Battle for Naruto
by lagseeing1123
Summary: Kiba Inuzuka had known for quite some time that when it comes to liking someone, he would play for both teams. But it wasn't until he laid eyes on Naruto Uzumaki, the blond transferee, that Kiba knew he had his first real crush on a guy. So what would our Kiba do to make this blond fall for him? And what would he do to beat a rival for the little kitsune? COMPLETE
1. Early Bird

Chapter 1

**Early Bird**

(Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep!) the alarm clock sounded, waking up a sleeping excited brunet.

"Finally the day has arrived!" Kiba Inuzuka shouted as he sat up from bed. He didn't really care if he was too loud and that it might wake up his mysteriously quiet dormmate and childhood friend Shino, which he did. The wall dividing their rooms wasn't thick enough to block out the loud voice of the excited teen.

"Kiba can you keep it down? It's only 5:30 for crying out loud." his newly awakened dormmate, who was sleeping in the room besides Kiba's, grumbled.

"Sorry Shino, but it's the first day of school and no one's going to stop me from being excited." explained Kiba, getting up from the bed and heading towards the bathroom.

"School starts at 8:00 you mutt." said Shino, turning to lie on his face and covered his ears with a pillow.

"The school opens as early as 6 AM so I can go early if I wanted and Akamaru's probably hungry so I better feed him now."

"All right, just keep it down. I still have an hour to sleep before going to school." Shino said, not wasting anymore of his breath talking to the brunet and tried to sleep more.

"Got you Spider-man!" Kiba said before leaving his room and letting his friend sleep.

He then took a bath and then went out to pick some nice clothes. He wore a nice pair of dark blue jeans and a black V-neck shirt that hugged his lean, but muscular figure. He then went to the kitchen to find his dog Akamaru waiting for him. He grabbed some kibble and poured it on the dog's bowl. The dog immediately went for the food. Kiba patted him on the head before grabbing himself a box of cereal which he poured on his bowl. Next stop was the fridge for some milk and then he sat down on the table to eat his breakfast.

After eating he went to open up his laptop and checked his FB account, finding two messages. He opened both. One was from his mom.

▼Tsume Inuzuka▼: Hey Kiba, wish you a great school year. Make me and Hana proud. Love you a lot.

He typed his reply which was

▼Kiba Inuzuka▼: Thanks mom. I'll do my best.

He checked the other unread message and found that it was from his sister.

▼Hana Inuzuka▼: Hey little bro. Finally an 11th grader and living on your own huh? Well, good luck to you Kiba. Hope you don't feel lonely there now that you're living in a dorm. We miss you already. Make sure to fish for a cute girl to present to us when you visit home. Love you little bro. ᴥ

▼Kiba Inuzuka▼: Hehe. I miss you too sis and I do hope I don't get lonely here. But I do have a roommate, Shino, but even when it's him there, it's like he's not there but don't worry much about me. All right, I'll make sure to find someone cute to take away my loneliness. Love you too sis, bye.

After replying to the messages, Kiba stood up from his chair and closed his laptop. He grabbed his bag that was prepared the night before and headed off to school, leaving his still sleeping roommate Shino.

Kiba attended the most well-known high school in their area, the Hidden in the Leaves Academy, founded by the famous scholar Hashirama Senju with the help of his friend Madara Uchiha. At least that's what it said on the stone tablet found on front of the statues of the two founding figures which were placed above an artificial waterfall at the center of the circle where the cars drive around.

Kiba circled around the campus before he went to the main building of the school. He headed straight towards the registration to get his I.D., some forms and his schedule and he also learned that there was a sort of welcoming ceremony to be held in the auditorium which will cover the first period. So he went there and looked around to find his friends but without luck, he only found Shikamaru, a boy with a black pineapple looking hair and ear-piercings.

"Hey Shika, have you seen the others?" Kiba asked, referring to their group of friends since elementary.

"Not really. And I'm not going for the trouble of looking for them. It's such a drag." the guy sighed. "Let's just sit together and get this over with."

"Same old Shikamaru. Lazy as ever." Then the two of them sat at the back of the auditorium. Shikamaru immediately leaned on the chair and took a nap. Before he knew it, the ceremony was over and he was being nudged by Kiba to try to get him to wake up. 'School is such a drag.' he sighed inwardly.

...

Kiba was making his way through the crowd of people in the hallway to get to his class. With rotten luck his second period was Trigonometry with Mr. Tazuna, an old and retired engineer.

'Great, Math for the second period. Why place something so boring so early in the morning?' Kiba thought as he went to his room. 'Well, first week's still orientation so there's not much to worry about.'

He slid the door open, which was to be expected since the founders of the school have Japanese ancestry and the culture was integrated in the buildings. There were already some students in the room. Kiba chose a seat on the row next to the window. Time went by and students started to fill the room. Then Mr. Tazuna entered the room just seconds before the second period bell rang.

"Good morning class. My name is…" their teacher started but was interrupted by the loud sound of the door sliding open.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I got a little lost finding the room." a sweating boy with golden hair, deep blue eyes and strange marks on his face that looked liked whiskers and definitely someone Kiba has never seen before said.

"Just go find your seat." Tazuna said, gesturing to the seat next to Kiba. It was the only one left unoccupied.

"Yes sir. I'm really sorry." The blond hurried towards his seat and received a comment from Kiba.

"Nice way to start the school year." Kiba chuckled. "I've never seen you before. Are you a transferee? What's your name?"

"Yes, I'm a transferee. We just moved here. I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way." the blond replied with a smile. "What about you?"

"Kiba Inuzuka. Nice of you to seat with me. I kinda gotten a little scared when I thought I wouldn't have a seatmate to talk with."

"It's the only seat left. What do you expect?"

'You're more than what I expected.' Kiba thought to himself. The first day of school and somebody has already taken Kiba's heart. And it was Naruto.

"Not really expecting but hey, I hope we'll become good friends." Kiba said.

"That's an early thing to hope upon, considering we've just met for one minute." said the blond.

"The early bird catches the worm as they say." Kiba responded as if on instinct and then realized that he shouldn't have.

"What did you just say?" asked Naruto, curious as to why Kiba gave such a quote.

"It was nothing." Kiba shrugged off. He didn't want Naruto to get the meaning behind those words. "So what, you don't wanna be friends?" Kiba asked, changing the subject.

"Of course I want to be. And since I don't know much about this place, I will be needing help." the blond told him.

"That I can give. I can show you around town." Kiba smiled. It was like love at first sight. He was now willing to do anything to get close with Naruto.

"Nice of you to offer. Maybe…" Naruto started but then he heard Mr. Tazuna call his attention.

"Would you please pay attention, Mr. Late Comer, and you too, boy with the red tattoos. It's the first day of school and you're already giving a bad impression."

"We're sorry… Mr. Tazuna." the two said in synch, reading the name written on the white board.

The period went on with Mr. Tazuna explaining the different topics that will be discussed in the Trigonometry course. Naruto listened attentively while Kiba had a hard time. He was doing all he could not to look at his seatmate even though he just wanted to stare at him. Then the bell rang and Mr. Tazuna dismissed them. Just as Naruto left the room, he felt someone tap on his shoulder.

"Hey Naruto. Do you have anyone to eat with this lunch? You can come sit with me and my friends." Kiba offered. He was hoping the blond would want to eat with him for lunch, therefore getting the chance to know him better.

"Thanks but I actually have someone I know here. I'm gonna be eating with my cousin Nagato and his siblings. He's a year older than me and also just transferred to this school." Naruto replied. Kiba frowned but quickly put up a smile, trying to hide his slight disappointment.

"Well that's good. But if you ever need someone to eat with at lunch or hang out with, just ask me, since you don't know any other people here yet." Kiba said, scratching his head.

"Thanks Kiba. Maybe some other time but I promised Nagato I'd sit with him and his friends later. Well, I still have to find my next class. See you." Naruto said as he went down the crowded hallway.

"Yeah see you." Kiba said back.

...

It was lunchtime and Kiba went to the cafeteria to look for his friends. He then saw Shikamaru waving from one of the tables. Also sitting there was Ino and Hinata. Then Shikamaru pointed at the line and Kiba turned to find Shino and Chouji still getting their lunch. Kiba then went to them to get his too. Then the three went to seat with their group.

"So how was your morning of the first day?" Kiba asked, starting the conversation and took a bite of the hamburger he got for lunch. Shikamaru was the first to answer, quite a surprise for all of them.

"It's such a drag. Can you believe my first period is Literature and our teacher, Mr. Hatake, already had us read a short story in class?" he complained. "And he's just so weird with that mask he wears, probably to hide his laughs from whatever's in that orange pocketbook he's reading."

"Chouji and I had World History together and our teacher is former principal Mr. Hiruzen Sarutobi who looks more history than the subject itself. I don't even know why he's not retired. He's like 80 years old or something." said Ino. "He even said he was an apprentice of one of the founders of the school."

"Anō, Shino and I had Biology earlier with Mr. Yamato. How about you Kiba?" Hinata said in a low voice.

"My first period was Trigonometry and my teacher's some retired engineer or something. It's weird he's teaching in high school when he could actually teach in college." Kiba said. He left the part about meeting Naruto and how he now got the hots for him. The group actually knows that Kiba's bisexual but he wasn't just going to share about how he immediately had a crush for the blond transferee.

And so they continued to eat their lunch. Chouji was the first to finish and was then asking for the others if they want to give him the food they weren't going to eat. Shino was the next one to finish but because he was the silent type, he just looked at his friends and noticed Kiba staring at another table.

"Hey, Kiba. What are you looking at?" he asked.

"Wha-what? Oh it's nothing. I guess I must have zoned out for a bit." he replied, scratching his head. When he turned to look from Shino and to his other friends, he found all of them staring at him with questioning looks.

"Oh come on Kiba. I saw you too and I know that you're looking at someone. So tell us who she is, or he is?" Ino teased. Kiba's face started to blush and now there was no hiding that he was indeed looking at someone. Sighing and knowing that Ino was not someone who's just gonna let it pass, he admitted that he was indeed looking at someone.

"Ok you caught me. But I'm not telling you who it is. If I did you wouldn't stop bugging me about him." Kiba replied then noticed what he just said, and put a hand over his mouth.

"Eeeehh." Ino squealed. "So it's a guy then? Oh, you shouldn't keep things like that from us Kiba. This is the first time you mentioned liking a guy since admitting to us you're bi when I caught you reading Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi. I can help you with your quest for love."

"Oh, Kiba. That's uh..." Hinata blushed so furiously about learning that Kiba's new crush was a boy and was at loss for words to say. Kiba used to have a crush on Hinata back when they were in middle school but Kiba's crush on her has since faded after the many times Hinata told him that she only saw him as a friend.

"Guys could you pipe down. I don't want the school to know I like guys too." Kiba pleaded, his tattoos slowly fading to the redness of his face. "And if Sasuke knew."

The group immediately understood Kiba upon hearing the name 'Sasuke'. They immediately lowered their voices so other tables wouldn't hear.

"So, who is this guy Kiba?" Chouji asked with plain curiosity, placing a handful of chips in his mouth. Shikamaru and Shino didn't initiate to ask more questions, since Shikamaru found it to troublesome and Shino was Shino. Hinata was still recovering and didn't dare ask or else she might faint. But they still decided to just listen because they were still curious about Kiba.

"Alright, if it's what I need to do to shut you guys up." Kiba sighed, accepting defeat. "His name is Naruto, that blond kid with the whisker like marks on his cheeks." Kiba pointed at the direction of the blond's table. "He said he just moved here in our area."

"Wow, he is kinda cute. So are you planning to find out if he's straight, gay or at least bi?" Ino curiously asked.

"What? Of course not. But I'm planning to become friends with him." Kiba answered.

"But then after that, then you'll find out if you have a chance with him, right?" Ino repeated her question.

"Maybe. I guess eventually. But being friends with him is my priority. Then I'll see if I have a chance later on." Kiba shrugged.

"Don't you worry about a thing Kiba. If I ever have classes with him I'll make sure to find out information about him that might help you." she assured.

"Thanks Ino." Kiba said.

"I wonder who those three he's eating with are. I've never seen them before but I think one of them is kinda hot too." Ino thought out loud.

"Naruto did say he was having lunch with his cousin so I guess one of them must be him. But I don't know which one." Kiba explained. "He also said his cousin is a year older than him so maybe the others are too."

"This is great Kiba. If you get close to Naruto, then maybe I can get the attention of the orange-haired guy he's eating with." Ino yelped.

"Man, why can't you be more like Hinata? You're so excited when it comes to boys." Kiba pointed out.

"That's because girls and guys-who-like-guys are very different in expression of their admiration." Ino reasoned.

...

The next periods after lunch went the same as they did in the morning. Kiba had History for the first afternoon period in which Mr. Hiruzen Sarutobi was also his teacher and then a foreign language class, which was none other than Japanese, taught by Mr. Asuma Sarutobi, son of his history teacher. Everything was orientation but the last period was like a blessing for Kiba. It was Monday and they had an extra period which was gym class and it just so happened that Naruto was also there.

'Man, this must be a dream or something. I can't believe I get to have another class with him today, and what's more it is gym class.' Kiba thought to himself, watching the blond who was sitting on the bleachers. 'Damn it, he looks so hot in those shorts. So sexy. Oh no, don't think that. Can't risk having a boner in gym class. Maybe I should talk to him before the teacher arrives.'

Kiba walked towards Naruto's direction, thinking of ways to start a conversation with him. But before he was halfway, he was greeted by his also classmate in last year's gym class, Rock Lee, a creepy guy with a Bruce Lee hairdo. He was most likely given after the late martial arts expert.

"Hello there Kiba. You ready to enjoy the Springtime of Youth?" he asked enthusiastically. For a moment there, Kiba actually thought he saw Lee's teeth sparkle and a huge wave crashing from behind him with the setting sun as a background. 'Great. I get to have gym class with Naruto but also with this freak again.'

"Of course. Gym class is the perfect way to use our youthful energy." Kiba replied with fake enthusiasm, knowing that it was probably what Lee wanted to hear and will end the conversation faster. He didn't want to be rude to Lee even if they weren't really friends.

"That's the spirit!" Lee said as he gave Kiba a 'thumbs up', and then walking off to find other people to 'uplift' their spirits.

Kiba continued to walk towards Naruto and saw the blond turning towards him. He immediately greeted him and waved his hand.

"Hey there Naruto. Looks like we have gym class together." he said cheerfully.

"Oh, hi Kiba. I didn't expect to run into you again today." the blond said. Kiba felt somewhat disappointed to hear that, because he was wishing that he would be with a class again with the blond. If the blond was for example, hoping to have a class again with Kiba, then Kiba would have been jumping for joy. But the blond probably didn't mean it that way.

"Hehe. Seems like fate..." Kiba started but was interrupted when he heard their gym teacher's loud and lively voice call their attention. 'Oh come on!' Kiba face palmed himself in his thoughts.

"Welcome my youthful students! I am Might Guy! Today being our first day, all of you are going to jog 5 laps around the basketball court. There's no other perfect way to use that bursting youthful energy of yours. So everyone please line up and pick a partner, so that you have someone to keep your pace up to. And if you have any respiratory problems like asthma or congenital heart defects just tell it to me so that we won't have you getting an attack while you're jogging." he announced with searing passion of youth.

'What the hell. He looks exactly like Rock Lee. What are they father and son? Why can't it be another teacher, someone more normal? Ugh, but at least I can partner up with Naruto. Hehe.' Kiba thought as he jogged towards the blond.

They started jogging around the court and Kiba already partnered up with the blond. Naruto seemed ok with it and didn't complain, more likely because he already knew Kiba.

"So, what do you think of our gym teacher? Kind of a freak huh?" Kiba said, trying to start a conversation with Naruto.

"I guess he's a lot livelier than most of the other teachers." replied Naruto.

"That's all you can say? I mean just look at him. He's wearing green spandex for Jashin's sake. And just look at Rock Lee, that kid with the bowl cut hair do. It's like their father and son and they're not even related, I think." Kiba said and with that he earned a soft laugh from the blond. He decided it was the cutest thing he's ever heard and that he wanted to hear it more often.

"Well he is weird alright." the blond agreed.

"So how's your day? Any interesting things that happened?" Kiba asked, changing the topic. It was not a problem for Kiba to talk while jogging because when there's no school he always takes Akamaru for a jog. And Kiba goes to the gym thrice a week and so has very good cardiovascular fitness.

"Not much but I did get to know some other students." Naruto replied.

"Oh really. Who are they? I might know them, and maybe even friends with them." Kiba said.

"One of them is Sasuke. It appears that there is someone from here that I know aside from my cousin and his siblings. We fought in the finals of the last Karate regional tournament but I lost to him. He went to me earlier to say that he looks forward to fighting me again sometime." Naruto narrated. Kiba got a little confused because it was the second time he heard Naruto say 'my cousin and his siblings' which didn't make sense because if they are siblings, shouldn't all of them be his cousins? He decided to ask that later but hearing that Naruto did Karate was also a surprise.

"You do Karate? I guess I should be careful not to get on your bad side huh? I've watched Sasuke fight before and he's like a fighting machine. I heard he can see through his opponent's moves in a blink of an eye and can even copy them precisely." Kiba said.

"Yeah you're right about that. When I fought him it was like he knew what I was going to do even before I did. I swear sometimes I can see his eyes turn red when fighting. That's why I'm going to train hard so when the next fight comes, I'm going to wipe the floor with his face. Believe it." Naruto promised with a thumbs up.

"That you will. Someone really needs to show that guy who is boss. He's a freaking homophobic bastard and beats up those who are openly gay. It makes me sick you know but no one's brave to stand up to him and he can't be suspended because of his Uchiha name." Kiba spat in distaste. With these words, Naruto's face started to turn pale but before Kiba could notice he regained his composure

"I didn't know he's like that. But anyway I've also met some others." Naruto was almost whispering and he quickly changed the topic from Sasuke. "There's this blond girl, Ino who sat next to me in my Japanese class earlier. She keeps asking me about the orange-haired guy I was eating with at lunch today."

"Oh so you've met one of my friends. I think she likes that guy because she's checking him out during lunch. And out of curiosity why do you always say 'my cousin and his siblings'?"

Naruto gave a confused look as he didn't immediately understand what Kiba was talking about, but then got it after a few seconds.

"Oh, one of them is my cousin, Nagato whom I told you about. He's the one with the red hair. Why I say 'my cousin and his siblings' is because Nagato is my cousin but he's adopted by my godfather Jiraiya. The two others are also adopted so technically they're not my cousins. The orange-haired guy is Yahiko and the blue-haired girl is Konan. They all live with my godfather so I knew them since we were young because my family visited every once in a while. My godfather bought a house here in Konoha this summer so they also just moved here, like me. My parents are busy this year so I suggested that I just move in with my godfather since they would always be travelling." Naruto explained but before Kiba could ask any more questions, they have completed their 5 laps, which was quite fast. Neither of them were even breathing that hard. They heard Guy blowing the whistle and they circled around him.

"All right everyone, even though I would want you young students to use more of that youthful energy of yours, since it's the first day, I would have to dismiss you already. But don't worry because the next week, we will be playing DODGEBALL where you can enhance your speed, agility and power. See you next week!" Guy said with spirit as he did a nice-guy-pose (a thumbs up with sparkling teeth in his case). "You are dismissed."

Students cheered for being dismissed early, or more likely cheered because they were able to get away from their creepy gym teacher. Kiba on the way to the locker room went to search for Naruto and when he saw him, he gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"So how about my offer earlier, Naruto. Want to join our group for lunch, maybe tomorrow?" Kiba asked. 'Say yes, say yes, say yes.' he chanted in his head.

"Ok. I think it will be fun hanging with you, especially if your friends are as funny as you are." Naruto said, trying to hide a blush.

"Oh, you think I'm funny?" Kiba asked in surprise. 'Wow this is going better than I thought. He already thinks I'm funny.'

"I guess?" Naruto tried to straighten his face to hide his blushing.

"Well that's good. Uhm, see you tomorrow. I still have to go to the fitness center near school to work out. I told my friend Shino I'll train with him today if ever we got dismissed early." Kiba said as he jogged towards the exit of the gymnasium as he waved at Naruto.

"See you tomorrow." Naruto waved back.

...

- At the gym –

"Hey Shino, you started already?" Kiba asked as he entered the gym and saw his friend already seated on the bench, taking a rest from lifting a 60 lb bench press. He looked around and saw that there were only three other people there. One of the other people was behind the bench Shino was sitting on, probably a spotter.

"I've just started." Shino replied monotonously. "I'm only at my second set and thankfully I have Kidōmaru here to help me." Shino motioned to the guy.

"You must be Kiba, Shino's gym buddy. I'm Kidōmaru by the way. I've met Shino in our Biology class a while ago. Luckily I sat next to him and found out he's a bug collector. I'm a spider collector myself and so he and I kind of became friends." Kidōmaru said.

"Wow. Nice to know that Shino's making new friends. Now that's a progress. He usually keeps to himself." Kiba joked. Shino turned his head to look at Kiba. Kiba immediately knew that Shino was glaring at him even behind those shades of his.

"I guess I better start with my workout so I'm gonna get a barbell for my shoulder press. I'll call you Shino when I need a spotter." Then Kiba went and got a barbell and two 50 lb plates to use for Military Press.

"Whoah dude, that's your starting weight?" Kidōmaru asked in surprise. "Do you want me to spot for you?" he offered knowing that Shino was still resting after performing his second set and it looks to him that the weight was too heavy for Kiba.

"Don't worry about him. Kiba's way stronger than he looks. Or he probably is lifting more today because he wants to impress someone so he wants to hasten sculpting that body of his, am I right Kiba?" Shino said as he prepared for his third set.

"Shut up Shino. It's none of your business how much I want to lift. Just get back to your own lifting." Kiba hissed.

"But still Kiba, you could try to lessen the load. We're just 16 year olds and theoretically, weights like that shouldn't even be attempted until we reach at least 18. You might get stunted." Shino said with genuine concern. (1)

"Yeah your friend here is right. You wouldn't want to injure yourself. You already have a well-built body considering your age and your strength is not achieved by many so I suggest you just focus on endurance training. It will also make the cuts on your muscles more defined." Kidōmaru advised.

Kiba thought about what they said for a second and couldn't help but agree. He really didn't need much strength considering that what he wanted more was just to have a well-shaped body which he already has, not to mention that he was in fact already strong. And Kidōmaru said it will define his muscles more and also, endurance training seems a more productive training considering that he might end up joining sports. So Kiba changed the weight to 60 lbs instead of 100 lbs.

While doing his workout, Kiba decided to think about what happened during the first day.

'Well today was more than I expected. I kinda hard to believe I've finally gotten a crush on a guy and on the first day at that. I do think that guys are hot too but this is definitely the first time I've felt something like this. Yes, I admit I'm really attracted to Naruto. And it's a good thing I already have two classes with him especially gym class. And more than that, I think that there's a very huge possibility he's gay. The way he blushes is impossible not to notice. I just have to be friends with him first, confirm if he's into guys too, and then if he likes me too maybe we can be more than friends. Step by step. This school year is going to be awesome.'

And with that Kiba went to finish his shoulder program, all the time thinking of Naruto.

...

"Hey guys, I'm home!" Naruto shouted as he entered his home since two weeks ago. Three pair of eyes all turned from looking at the television to him.

"Hey Naruto. How was your first day? Exciting I suppose?" Yahiko asked him first.

The events that took place suddenly flashed through his mind and the first to show up was Kiba, causing his face to blush.

"Naruto you're blushing." Konan pointed out. "Don't tell me you already have a crush on someone." The comment made Naruto's face turn even redder.

"Sometimes you are so easy to figure out Naruto. So who is this guy?" Nagato this time asked.

"Wha-what are you talking about? I don't have a-a crush on someone. I mean it's just the first day." Naruto defended himself but the uncontrollable stuttering was against him. To hide his uneasiness about the topic, he went to the kitchen, dropping his bag on the couch along the way. He took some bread from the shelf and some cheese spread from the refrigerator. As he was preparing the sandwich, he heard Yahiko talking.

"Hey don't tease him. He probably just met some guy who wants to be friends with him and he's kind of Naruto's type. It doesn't mean he has a crush on him right away."

"You're saying the same thing, Yahiko. So Naruto, are our hunches correct?" Konan questioned. Naruto was now making his way towards the living room again and sat on the sofa.

"I did meet this guy, Kiba on my trigonometry class and then we also had gym class together. He's well, uh, very friendly. And then I also met Sasuke, the guy I fought in the Karate championships but beat me. He said he's looking forward to fighting me again so I said I can't wait." Naruto replied, trying not to dwell on the 'crush' subject.

"So Naruto," Nagato called his attention, his voice sounding very serious. "Seen any hot chicks at school?"

"Huh?" It was all Naruto could form from his mouth. The three of them all went laughing.

"Hey! You all know I don't like girls that way." Naruto sometimes hated it when the three picks on him but still he enjoyed their company so he can't really get mad at them.

"Come on, Konan, Nagato. Stop teasing him. Jiraiya may not like it if we piss off his favorite godson." Yahiko said.

"Thank you Yahiko-niisan." Naruto said gratefully. Naruto liked Yahiko because he has the same personality as him, always cheery and he always saves Naruto from all of Nagato and Konan's teasing. Also, because he has flaming orange hair and Naruto loves orange. "And you know, there's this girl, Ino, who keeps asking me about you. I think she really likes you."

"Is she hot?" This was Yahiko's immediate response.

"Well she is beautiful, I suppose. But really, you shouldn't be thinking only of appearances Yahiko-niisan." Naruto said.

"But appearance is as equally important as personality. I just like to check appearances first, or let's say it has a higher percentage for me." Yahiko explained.

"Okay, okay. We have enough about crushes today so let's just peacefully watch the show that's playing. I don't want to miss anything important." This time it was Nagato who suggested. Then everyone complied and they watched Attack on Titan, which was presently a very popular show airing every week.

When the show finished, Naruto prepared some instant ramen to eat for dinner. He didn't feel very hungry so ramen was good enough. One doesn't really need a lot of food when you're just going to sleep. It would be a waste of energy.

After changing into his pajamas and wearing his walrus sleeping cap, he laid on the bed thinking of one thing, or more specifically one person. Kiba. And on the other side of town, another boy was doing the same, although he was thinking of Naruto.

A/N:

This story has been rewritten. It has the same plot but there are a lot of changes due to the change of age from the original story's previous 14 year old for Naruto and his peers to 16 years old. But that won't matter if this is the first time you read this story. Unless this will be a reread of the story, which definitely will make me happy to know about.

(1) Remember, don't lift weights that are too heavy, even if your muscles can handle it because your bones may not. Take precautions until you reach full skeletal maturity which is around 21 years old for guys where the bones stop lengthening.


	2. The Rival

Chapter 2

**The Rival**

The next day found Kiba very early again at school. He was excited about seeing Naruto and was thinking that maybe he could find him in the hallway and chat with him for a bit but since it was early, he decided to go to his room first. It was already a routine for Kiba to meet first with his group of friends during the mornings but he felt like going to his first class first to see who his classmates are for that period, since they haven't met the day before due to the orientation. And that was a good thing because never did he expect to see that blond mop of hair on the classroom, sitting near the window at the back. He saw that Naruto was looking outside and Kiba made his way silently towards the blond, wanting to surprise him.

"Hey. Mind if I sit here?" he asked, calling the attention of the blond.

"It's okay if you..." Naruto said as he turned to see who was asking and was surprised to see who it was. "Oh Kiba, it's you. Of course you can sit with me." Kiba smiled and took the seat beside Naruto.

"I'm surprised to see you here this early considering you were late yesterday."

"Well that's why I'm here early, because I don't want to make a bad record of being tardy." Naruto chuckled. "And as I said yesterday, I was only late because I had trouble finding the room."

"So what are you looking at outside?" Kiba questioned.

"Oh uh... just passing the time." Naruto blushed at his answer. Seriously, can someone really blush that much? Well it looks like Naruto can because what he was actually looking at the window wass the entrance to the school, waiting to see if he could take a look at Kiba once he enters the gate. That's why he was early. Just to get even a glimpse of him. But it seems like Kiba used a different entrance and that now it would be more than just the glimpse he was hoping for.

"Really?" Kiba asked in a tone that says 'Are you sure you're just passing time?'. "But why is your face turning red?" he asked innocently, but he was already trying to figure out Naruto.

"Huh?" Naruto's face lit up even more at upon Kiba's mention. "Is my face red? It must be the heat. You know since we're in a tropical area." Naruto replied nervously, almost stuttering. 'Why does he have to be so close when he asks those questions? Calm down Naruto.' he told himself.

"Since we're in a tropical area? Really that's your reason? Hahahah! I was only teasing Naruto and I don't know why you thought that being in a tropical area is what makes your face red." Kiba couldn't help but laugh. When Kiba regained himself, he switched to a different topic. He didn't want Naruto to think of him as a guy who likes to pick on people.

"Biology. Our third class together huh? You know we really should be friends considering we take at least three classes together. Hey can I see your schedule?" Kiba requested.

"Okay. Bring out yours too so we can compare." Naruto took out his schedule form from his bag and Kiba did the same.

"Hm, let's see." Kiba scanned the two schedules and was happy to find that he also has Music class with Naruto. Although Kiba likes listening to music, learning how to play some instruments didn't really appeal to him. But knowing that Naruto would be there with him was enough to make it more tolerable and less boring.

"Hey, we also have Music together during Wednesdays and Fridays." Naruto pointed out as he too noticed it. "Do you like music?"

"I like listening to it but reading notes and playing instruments, not much." Kiba answered, looking bored. "Actually my mom forced me to take it and I don't even know why."

"I like Music too but unlike you, I chose Music of my own free will because I also like to play. I play the guitar and flute sometimes when I need to pass time or just to relax." said Naruto.

"Really? That's cool. You're lucky that you won't have to learn how to play an instrument because you already know. As for me, I don't even know how to play a guitar and it's like every guy needs to at least know how to play it." Kiba complained.

"Don't worry I can teach you." Naruto offered.

"Really?" Kiba's mood lightened immediately. Tutoring. It's one of the most common ways to get close to another person.

"Yeah. Just pick whether you want to play the flute or the guitar."

"Then I guess I'll choose the guitar." Kiba couldn't help but imagine all the possible situations that could happen if Naruto teaches him how to play the guitar. Naruto holding his fingers to position them on the fret board, very close behind him was just one of the scenarios.

"Kiba? Hey, Kiba? Earth to Kiba." Naruto was waving his hand in front of the brunet, trying his best to get him out of his daydreaming.

"What, huh?" Kiba asked confusedly as he was brought out from his daze.

"You were zoning out there for a bit. What were you thinking about?" Naruto asked curiously and then it was Kiba's turn to blush.

"Oh, nothing really. Would you look at the time, first period's about to start." Kiba immediately changed the topic, hoping that Naruto wouldn't notice that he was probably sporting a blush and that his red tattoos would hide it.

The bell did ring and their teacher entered.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Tenzō Yamato and I'll be your teacher for Biology. Since this is the second day and I happened to be your teacher, let's make the orientation quick so we can immediately proceed with the lesson." he said professionally.

"Can you believe this guy? Lesson on the first meeting?" Kiba whispered to Naruto.

"Yeah. There should be a law against having lessons on the first meeting." Naruto responded.

"Definitely. I hate having to..." Kiba was cut off by hearing his teacher clear his throat just beside him. 'How did he get here so fast?' When he turned his head to look, Mr. Yamato was staring at him, his head a mere five inches from Kiba's face. Kiba and Naruto could swear that their teacher's face glowed like there was a flashlight aimed at it and the surrounding area turned black from the aura he was emitting and both Kiba and Naruto's body stiffened in fear.

"You know, people need to show respect, especially kids at your age. And when I say respect it means listening to the one speaking in front and not talking with your seatmate. Are we clear?" Mr. Yamato said in a deep emotionless voice. It was said straightforwardly but both Kiba and Naruto felt that they were almost being threatened by how he said it.

"Yes sir." they managed to softly yelp out.

"Ok then, let's continue." Mr. Yamato said casually and returned to the front of the room to continue the orientation as if nothing happened earlier.

"Na-naruto?" Kiba whispered, not even looking at the blond.

"Ye-yes, Kiba?" Naruto was the same, still feeling the after effects of their teacher's dark aura.

"Do you want to sit with me and my friends for lunch?" Kiba managed to ask without stuttering.

"I think that's a good idea." was Naruto's reply.

...

"Come on guys, don't screw this up. I've invited Naruto to eat lunch with us." Kiba said to his group.

"You already got him to eat with us? You're good Kiba." Ino commented.

"Just don't tell him that I sort of have a crush on him. I just want to be his friend for now." Kiba pleaded. With Ino there, Kiba was thinking about the many different scenarios that may happen if she doesn't keep that big mouth of her shut.

"Don't worry Kiba. We'll make sure to act natural." Shikamaru assured him. "I mean it's too troublesome to dwell on your private matters."

Kiba spotted the blond who was talking to his cousin and frowned because he thought that Naruto might have forgotten that he should be eating with Kiba's group but as soon as Naruto walked away from the table, the frown turned upside down. Kiba waved his hands and called out to Naruto which the blond noticed and then went towards Kiba's table. He took the seat next to Kiba when the brunet offered it to him.

"So guys, this is Naruto. I have Trigonometry, Biology and Music class with him." Kiba introduced.

"Hey Naruto, I'm sure you would remember me." Ino said with a smile. 'If you forget my name I'll crush you.' was the thought inside her head.

"Of course Ino. We have Japanese classes together." Naruto replied, easily remembering the name of the other blond.

'Good, good. You remembered.' Ino thought.

"So Naruto, how'd you and Kiba meet?" Chouji asked before taking a bite from his burger. Kiba told them to act like they don't know Naruto yet.

"I met Kiba yesterday on our Trigo class together. I was late and the only seat left was beside him so I sat there." After Naruto answered Chouji's question, Kiba introduced his friends to the blond.

"Okay let's start this. Naruto, the one on my right is Shino. He likes collecting bugs and he's also my roommate on the dorm we rent. We're childhood friends."

"Really? You collect bugs? That's really kind of creepy. No offense." Naruto doesn't like insects so he couldn't help but point it out as early as possible if he wanted to join the group.

"None taken." Shino said monotonously.

"The girl seating next to Shino is Hinata. She is very shy." Hinata waved her hand lightly, fighting the blush starting to form on her cheek. Now that Naruto was up close, Hinata couldn't help but find him very attractive. But Kiba already got dibs on him so she told herself she wouldn't have a crush on him.

"You've already met Ino so the next one will be Chouji, with the brown hair." Kiba then immediately put his mouth close to Naruto's ear. He couldn't risk something bad happening.

"Whatever you do, do not, never ever, call him fat or anything that implies his size or weight. You don't wanna know what happens if you make that mistake." Kiba whispered. Naruto gulped from Kiba's warning.

"H-hi Chouji." Naruto mumbled.

"Yo." Chouji said with a raise of his hand.

"And the last one is Shikamaru, the guy with the pineapple haircut. He's very lazy and in every conversation you'll hear him say 'Troublesome' or 'It's such a drag'." Kiba chuckled at this a bit and Naruto as well.

"Wow. You all have different personalities. So how'd you guys ended up together?" Naruto asked. If he was going to be friends with them, then what better time to get to know them than now.

"Shino and I, as I've told you earlier, are childhood friends. We live on the same street and since my mom and his dad went to college together and are friends, we too easily became buddies. My mom's a veterinarian and his dad is an entomologist. Where my mom breeds dogs, his dad breeds rare insects which sell lots of money. And his dad also specializes in their extermination, especially pests in the farms." Kiba told him.

"Hmm, come to think of it, Kiba does remind me of dogs. With his unnaturally sharp canines and fang tattoos." Naruto said.

"Yeah you're right." Ino agreed. "He loves his dog Akamaru so much, he sometimes go to our house smelling like a dog." Everyone laughed at Ino's statement.

"Hey I do not." Kiba denied but no one heard him because they were laughing hard. But as he saw Naruto laughing too and having fun with his group, Kiba started laughing as well. 'This is going to be the best school year ever.' he thought.

Unbeknownst to them from the other side of the cafeteria, a pair of eyes was also staring at the blond.

...

Naruto just finished his last period and he quickly wanted to get to the school gate because Kiba had invited him to join him and his friends to play some games at the arcade. Whistling a tune as he walked towards his locker to store the heavy books he didn't need to bring home, he felt a hand tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw someone he didn't expect.

"Hey there Naruto." Sasuke greeted him.

"Oh, hi Sasuke. What brings you here?" the blond responded. He saw that there was a red-haired girl at Sasuke's left and on his right was a silver-haired guy with unusually sharp teeth. Behind Sasuke was a very huge guy with spiked up orange hair. Naruto thought he was a body guard or something.

"I was wondering if you would like to join our dojo. Since you moved to this town, I doubt you would still be able to train in the old dojo you used to attend. Someone as good as you is always welcome to train with us. And I'm really looking forward to fighting you again." said the raven.

'How should I answer his offer? Now that I know that he's a homophobic, there's no way I would want to even get close to him. I need to stay away from him. I don't want a repeat of what happened before.' Many thoughts were circling through Naruto's mind. Yes, Sasuke seemed like a nice guy and it was very nice of him to offer Naruto to join him at Karate practices but after what Naruto has heard of him, he can't become close to Sasuke. Joining him in Karate practice means that he has to spend time with him, and then that will lead to friendship. But once Sasuke learns about Naruto's preferences, that friendship will be broken and, well, Naruto doesn't even want to think about what will happen next.

"How nice of you to offer Sasuke, but I would want to fight you in the tournament. If I joined your dojo then that wouldn't be possible." It was all Naruto could think of as an excuse to tell Sasuke that he didn't want to join their dojo, or more specifically, be with Sasuke.

"What a shame. We can really use a strong fighter like you, but you know if you ever change your mind, just tell me. Well then, see you around." The raven turned his back and waved his hand.

"Yeah, see you." Naruto mumbled.

"Come on guys. We don't want to be late for practice." Sasuke called to his gang. Then they went on their way and Naruto was again able to breathe normally.

...

"Hey Naruto, what took you so long?" Kiba asked as a panting Naruto arrived at the school gate. The whole group minus the two girls and Shikamaru was there and all set to go, now that the blond had finally arrived. Shikamaru didn't want to come because he was too lazy and as he always say, 'It's too troublesome.'

"I'm sorry Kiba... but I... bumped into someone... and we talked for a bit." the blond explained through breaths. He ran from the school building to the gate and it was more than 400 meters. He didn't jog, he ran, and that's why he's panting and running was not something he's used to.

"Do I want to know who this person is?" Kiba asked.

"Not really. They're not that important. So, where are we going again?" the blond asked excitedly.

"We are going to the mall to eat some snacks and play in the arcade. Sound's good?"

"Yeah, definitely." agreed Naruto.

...

It was only 4:30 PM so that meant they could spend about two hours at the mall. Chouji's lives with his parents and was required to go home early. Shino and Kiba live in a dorm near the school and the curfew time is 10 PM. Their real houses are a good 1 hour drive from the high school they chose to attend to so to get rid of the trouble of waking up early just to waste one hour of sleep for driving every day, they decided to just rent a dorm near their school. And also because their parents thought that since they were already 16 year olds, they would be able to live on their own. Naruto on the other hand was allowed to stay until 8 PM as long as he informed Jiraiya, or any of his housemates.

The first stop they went to was the food court. It was always the food court they went to first because of Chouji's craving for food. Chouji ordered two burgers, a hotdog sandwich and a 24 oz Coke. Kiba bought beef jerky and Shino, a wintermelon shake. Naruto helped himself with a large vanilla ice cream cone. And this was a very bad idea, not for the blond, but for the one who was watching Naruto lick the creamy goodness.

Kiba watched as Naruto eat his ice cream, his mind filled with thoughts of what other things Naruto could be licking with that tongue of his. And then he saw that a bit of the ice cream has stuck to the blond's left cheek. How Kiba wished he could lick that bit with his own tongue.

'Damn it, Kiba stop.' Kiba could hear his voice somewhere in his head telling him. 'Don't think any sexual thoughts about Naruto. It's a very bad idea.'

'But he's so... lickable.' Kiba replied to the voice in his own head.

'And you're looking like a pervert with you staring at him like that.'

'What I don't look like a...' It was at that moment that Kiba realized that he was indeed looking at Naruto like a hungry beast so before the blond could even notice, he straightened himself up to save himself from embarrassment.

"I hate to say this to you Kiba but, just a few seconds ago, you look like a hungry dog wanting to devour Naruto." Shino whispered to him.

"Did I really? Man, what does he do to me?" Kiba sighed.

"You're very lucky he's busy talking with Chouji or else you might have scared him off."

"But why does he have to choose to eat ice cream from the hundreds of different things to eat? It's not fair." Kiba pouted.

"Let's play some games already so you can get your mind off him a bit." the bug-lover suggested.

"I guess you're right."

...

They stopped at the arcade to play some games. Chouji said he wanted to play Dance Revolution which really surprised Naruto. Shino told them he would accompany Chouji which made Kiba jump for joy inside because even though Shino and Kiba's interests are very different which made them have a weird kind of friendship, Shino still understands Kiba. And Kiba was very thankful for Shino this time because he left him alone with Naruto.

"So what do you want to play first?" Kiba asked Naruto.

"Let's play Tekken 6. I really love that fighting game and I'm really good at it." replied the blond with confidence.

"Okay let's go but I have to tell you that I'm not really an expert in that game." said Kiba as he scratched his head.

"Don't worry. I'll purposely lose so it would reach 5 rounds and keep the match longer."

"Well that only scared me more if you say you have to purposely lose in order for me to beat you."

"Come on. Let's just play and forget who's going to win. It's not about beating each other." the blond said, hoping to encourage Kiba.

"Ok."

They bought their tokens and looked around for Tekken 6. When they found it, Naruto saw that there was one person playing. '20 Wins' was written on the player's side of the screen which meant the guy was an expert. They couldn't see who the guy was because he was on the other side of the machine and they didn't go around to check it.

"Hm. So I guess I have to beat this guy first so you can fight against me Kiba." the blond said.

"Yeah you have to. Let's see what you're made of Naruto. This guy won 20 matches against other players, not a computer. And since this is the arcade, most of those who play here are good too. He must have been playing there for hours." Kiba explained his deduction.

The blond didn't bother to answer back to Kiba and just inserted two coins on the machine and pressed the start button. The character selection appeared and Naruto chose Mokujin. The other player chose Marshall Law.

Kiba wondered why Naruto would choose Mokujin because Mokujin has different fighting styles which he copies from other characters for every match. If he chose him, Naruto must really be good at the game to be confident that he can play all the Tekken characters' moves randomly. The first round started and Naruto's opponent immediately went for attack, doing all the memorized juggling moves of Law. Naruto was taking a good beating but when his health reached 25%, he played seriously, blocking and countering every attack the other player made. Then Naruto started his barrage of attacks which the opponent failed to block and made Naruto the winner of the first round. The second and third round didn't go the same as the first round. Naruto didn't take a hit and he attacked the opponent fiercely, leaving no opening for a counterattack. The match was over before Kiba even realized it.

Then from the other side of the game machine stood the other player. He was also a high school student from their school. He has red blood hair, eyeliner over his teal eyes, a red kanji tattoo for love on his left forehead and missing a pair of eyebrows. He moved towards Naruto's direction and spoke up first.

"You were pretty good there. I've never seen another player with such mastery of the game. What's your name?" the redhead asked, his voice deep, husky and scary as hell. It was almost some sort of growling in the way he spoke and the way he looked at them was able to make the weak-hearted wet their pants. But since he was asking something not so intimidating, Naruto immediately shrugged of his impression of the redhead. 'Maybe that's just how he speaks.' he thought.

"I'm Naruto. You also attend HLA from your looks. What's your name?" the blond asked cheerfully, as opposed to the dark way the other boy spoke.

"I'm Gaara. I've been playing for the past two hours here and no one has beaten me before you. Let's have a rematch some other time." he offered, his voice with no emotion. Gaara was actually surprised on how Naruto reacted to him. Usually people would think he's a freak because of how he looks and the way he speaks and they would want to avoid him but Naruto treated him as he would treat any other person.

"Sure, I'd love to. But why not now?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Honestly, I don't think I'll be able to beat you with your level. I have to practice some more. I will see you some other time." Then Gaara went out of the arcade leaving Kiba and Naruto to play. Naruto started to play the first stage while Kiba watched him, not even wanting to fight Naruto after what he saw.

"That guy is creepy and really, really weird." Kiba pointed out. "He has no eyebrows for fuck's sake."

"Kiba, you shouldn't judge people by their appearance." Naruto said, his eyes not leaving the screen.

"But he's still intimidating. He must have skipped the afternoon class to be playing here so early. And I wonder if he's on our grade 'cause I don't think I've seen him before."

"Maybe he's also a transferee like me." the blond suggested.

"Maybe."

You want to fight?" Naruto offered.

"No way. I'd be a punching bag." Kiba immediately answered. "I'll just watch here from the sidelines."

"Suit yourself." After Naruto said that, the screen informed them that a new challenger has entered which led them back to the character selection screen again. Naruto decided to use Paul Phoenix. The other player selected Jin Kazama. The first round started and Naruto decided to be the one to attack first and he did all the moves and combinations he could think of in order to beat the other guy. But to Naruto's surprise, every attack he made was blocked by his opponent. Even if Naruto used unpredictable combinations, the opponent still saw it and blocked everything and this really made Naruto infuriated. His opponent was clearly mocking him. His opponent was not even attacking and by the way he is blocking Naruto's attack, he was clearly sending a message which Naruto interpreted as 'No matter what you do, whatever moves you make, you wouldn't be able to land an attack so better just give up.'

Naruto couldn't think of anything more to do and the first round ended in a draw. The same thing happened during the second round. No one's health was deducted and ended up in another draw. But during the final round, Naruto gave his all and he still couldn't land one punch. It was like player against a computer with the difficulty at Ultra Hard. Then to his surprise, his opponent attacked for the first time, landing a single left punch to him, deducting around 5% damage. The time limit was reached and because Naruto's health was lower, he lost. He was never so humiliated in his entire life. 10 minutes ago, he was bragging to Kiba how good he was and now his opponent wiped the floor with his face. Kiba stood beside him speechless.

Naruto stood up from his seat to see who his opponent was, just like what Gaara did. And he was more surprised to see who it was. It was none other than Sasuke Uchiha who was now looking at him from his seat. Behind him were the huge orange-haired guy and the silver-haired guy with the spiky teeth who was drinking probably water from a small canteen.

"Hey they Naruto." Sasuke casually greeted him. "Were you the one I was fighting?"

"Yes." Naruto answered in a low voice and his eyes unable to look at Sasuke when he replied, feeling ashamed from his defeat. But now he understood why he was beaten. He was fighting the same guy who beat him in the Karate finals.

"I'm sorry if I went overboard during the match. If I'd known it was you, I wouldn't have done what I did." the raven apologized.

"You don't have to. You really are too good in this game so I have no say in it. That means I have to practice more." Naruto said, repeating what Gaara had said to him not a half hour ago.

"If you want to practice, you can always do it with me. I'll give you a few lessons. And let me say this again. Please consider joining our dojo. It would really be more enjoyable if I get to spar with you. The other people from our dojo are too boring to spar against." the raven brought up again, hoping to change Naruto's mind.

"Hey I heard that." the silver-haired guy spoke up, sounding bothered with what Sasuke said.

"I didn't mean you Suigetsu. The other Karatekas." Sasuke said to him and then turned back again to Naruto. "So what do you say?"

"I'll think about it Sasuke but not now." the blond replied. Naruto paused for a bit, looking down at his feet to think of something to say so that he could get away from the raven. "Uhm, Kiba and I are supposed to be meeting up with Chouji and Shino so bye Sasuke." He grabbed Kiba's hand so he could get away from Sasuke which Kiba didn't ask why.

"Man, I HATE that guy." Naruto grumbled. "He's an arrogant bastard, that's what he is. Even offering me to join his dojo just so he can prove to me again who's a better fighter. I swear that guy has bad intentions even with how friendly that face of his looks."

"Calm down Naruto. Just avoid him. He acts that way because he's an Uchiha. They need to be the best in everything and they enjoy rubbing how good they are in other's faces. Sasuke's practically good in everything, from academics to sports. And now video games too." Kiba said to at least make Naruto understand why Sasuke was like that.

"I promise that I am so going to beat him in the next Karate tournament. I'm going to train hard and make him look like a fool. And I never go back on my word." Naruto swore with full determination.

"I know you can beat him Naruto. Someone really needs to stand up to that guy. Once he loses for the first time, he might even not show up that face of his again from the shame he'll be receiving from you." Kiba encouraged him.

"Thanks, Kiba. I really needed to hear that. Let's just forget about that asshole and go find Chouji and Shino."

"Yeah, good idea." Kiba agreed.

...

"That was some… good… workout back there. I'm so exhausted… I think I… need to sit down." Chouji panted in between his words. He fought 5 dance battles and with the hardest level of difficulty so his body felt like it was overheating. "Hey Shino, can you be kind enough to buy me a drink, and some chips too?" he requested from his companion.

"Ok, I'll buy you some. Just wait here for Naruto and Kiba." Shino left for the food stalls. As to why Shino would do something like that for Chouji with no questions asked, who knows?

"Yo Chouji! How you doing buddy?" Kiba said as he sat beside him. Naruto stood beside the bench they were seating on.

"I've never been so exhausted in my life. The dude I fought, or I think he's a dude but he looks kinda like a girl because of his blond hair that was tied in a pony tail, was so good in that game that I played 5 rounds with him and he beat me in all of it."

"Gee, I guess you can relate with Naruto here. That Sasuke prick beat him in Tekken 6 and he didn't even let Naruto hit him once." Kiba shared, even he himself sounding pissed.

"Sasuke plays Tekken 6? I didn't expect him to be one to play those kind of games, especially in an arcade being an honor student and all. I thought he was the study-after-school type of guy." said Chouji.

"Chouji, you do know that not all those who get high grades study hard. He's Sasuke, and he's a genius. He doesn't need to study after school. It runs in his blood." Kiba pointed out. "And if he was the study-after-school type of guy, he wouldn't have the time to be beating the crap out of our classmates in middle school because he thinks they're so below his level. I hate that guy." Kiba growled. Not only does he hate Sasuke, but now he hates him more because of what he did to Naruto. "So, do you guys have anything else in mind you want to do?"

"I think I'll go home now. I'm really tired." Chouji replied.

"I would like to go home too, Kiba. I kind of lost the mood to play other games. I'm sorry if you still wanted to hang out." said Naruto, hoping that Kiba wouldn't be disappointed if he were to leave early. He wanted to hang out with Kiba, but Sasuke has successfully ruined it already.

"That's ok. I understand." Kiba assured Naruto. "If you want I can walk you home." This statement made Naruto blush.

"Kiba, you do know Naruto's not a girl. You don't walk him home. You just walk home with him." Shino coming out of nowhere suddenly voiced out. Naruto heard the comment which only made him blush harder. Naruto may be gay but he is as manly as he can be. That's why he blushed from that comment from Shino.

"I'm sure Kiba didn't mean it that way." Naruto chuckled.

"What about you Shino, you ready to go back to the dorm yet?" Kiba inquired his roommate.

"I'll be going to my father's shop in the mall. He might need some help." the bug boy replied. Shino handed Chouji his chips and drinks before heading off his own way.

"Ok then let's go home." the dog-lover said.

...

The three of them walked home together and Kiba and Naruto were having a conversation about ramen. Naruto was telling Kiba how ramen was God's greatest gift to mankind and Kiba was arguing that Naruto should eat other things aside from ramen, like steak or anything made of meat, instead of those instant noodles. Their argument was so long and before they realized it, they were at Chouji's house and the guy was already saying 'bye', 'take care' and 'see you guys tomorrow'. The next stop was Naruto's place.

"Where's the direction to your place?" Kiba asked.

"Just straight ahead for two more blocks and then we'll take a right turn." the blond told him as he pointed at a neon-green signboard of an establishment at the corner on which they would have to turn. They walked for another 10 minutes before they reached Naruto's house.

"So this is my place. It's not much but it can hold five people. Do you want to come in?" he asked Kiba and the brunet started to argue with himself whether or not he should take the offer.

'Should I go in? But this is just the second day I've met him. Is two days enough for one to trust another person that they'll invite them over to their house? Oh stop thinking about it. Just go.' Kiba finally decided.

"Uhm, Kiba?" the blond called the brunet's attention making him stop from his musing.

"Yeah?"

"So, do you want to come in or not?"

"Sure, of course."

Naruto knocked on the door and 10 seconds later it was opened by Konan. Then after looking at the blond, Konan turned to see who was behind him and saw Kiba. And then, evil flooded her mind.

"Bringing a guy home after the second day huh?" Konan teased him. Naruto blushed and hoped that Kiba didn't hear what Konan just said. As the statement registered in his mind, he automatically spoke up and changed the subject.

"Is everyone else home already?" he quickly asked. Luckily, the evil from Konan's mind has flown away and she just answered Naruto's question.

"Not everyone. Yahiko's already here but Nagato's buying groceries with Jiraiya." Konan turned again to Kiba. "So what's your name?"

"I'm Kiba. I was supposed to just walk with Naruto home since the dorm I live in is near the place but he kind of invited me in." he replied. Naruto hoped Kiba didn't hear what Konan had said earlier but he heard it loud and clear and Kiba was thinking about what it could have meant. She could have said 'bringing a friend' but she said 'bring a guy' which have very different meanings, at least to Kiba's point of view.

"That's okay. We like having company. Come on in." And then Naruto and Kiba went towards the living room to find the television on the Animax channel airing the anime Coppelion. Kiba sat on the couch but before Naruto could do the same, he was yanked on his arm by Konan, pulling him away from the living room and onto the kitchen. Kiba watched the two curiously but decided to just watch the TV show while waiting for Naruto.

"So, is he the guy you have a crush on?" Konan asked in a giggly voice. If you would look at Konan, you wouldn't expect her to be that interested about other's personal matters, but this was Naruto, her cute and sort of like a little cousin although they're not related. And the number one reason for that was she's a yaoi fan girl. That's why she was excited to know about Kiba. And also, she's evil sometimes and likes to tease Naruto.

"What?!" Naruto shouted in shock but then quickly turned his volume down. "I do not have a crush on him." he denied which didn't help the situation in anyway because Konan read him like an open book and could tell he was lying. "He's just a friend."

"That's what you say. And, leaving that matter, why don't you attend to this 'just a friend' of yours while I make you guys some snacks? Does French fries sound okay?" she asked. It was very interesting how Konan could change from 'yaoi fan' to just 'normal girl' in a flash. And so Naruto did what Konan told him to do.

"Hey, what were you two talking about back there?" the brunet asked. "I heard you shout 'What?!' and then I couldn't hear anymore."

"Oh it's nothing important." Naruto shrugged off and tried to hide away the blush he was sporting. Whenever the conversation was about 'Kiba' or 'crushes', a blush was sure to be expected, especially when it's Kiba he's talking too.

"Really? But anyway, do you watch this anime?" Kiba pointed to the show on TV.

"Oh that? Not really but my cousins like watching it, especially Yahiko and Nagato. I bet Nagato would be mad that he couldn't watch it today because he had to buy groceries with Jiraiya. As for Yahiko, he's probably watching it in our room." he replied.

"But it's a good anime and has a good story. Do you not like watching hot chicks in skimpy skirts battle it out with the bad guys?" Kiba asked innocently, but in truth it was a question with a whole other purpose. And Naruto didn't know how to respond to that. That anime was specifically created to target young males, especially the teens. Having girls as the main characters, dressed in school uniform with skirts that reveals what should not be revealed, and with very provocative camera angles, a normal straight teen would want to watch it. Naruto was not one of those but he still managed to pull out a reason from that brain of his.

"I don't really like to watch such shows. I don't want to become a pervert like the three other guys whole live here." the blond said. 'I can't let Kiba know I'm gay. He might hate me and I'll lose my first friend in school. If he likes watching shows like Coppelion then he must be straight. Damn it Naruto, why do you have to like him?' he thought.

"You're worried that you might become a pervert? Hahaha! You're really funny with your excuses Naruto, I give you that." Kiba laughed for about 10 seconds before regaining himself. 'He must be gay if he doesn't like watching this stuff.'

"Don't blame me if I want to be modest unlike you." He stuck out a tongue at Kiba which the brunet saw. 'Is he really sticking out a tongue at me? That's so childish, but I like it.' Kiba decided. 'I wonder what it tastes like.'

Then the doorbell rang and Konan went to get it. The two boys looked at who the person who arrived was. It revealed to be Nagato and as the redhead made his way to the living room, he took notice of Kiba and then looked at Naruto with an evil smirk. 'He is going to be so fun to tease.' Nagato thought.

"Naruto, mushikashite, ano otoko no ko wa kimi no kare desu ka? (Naruto, could it be that that guy is your boyfriend?)" he asked the blond. Kiba was puzzled by what he heard. He could swear that it wasn't English that just came out of Nagato's mouth.

"Eh? Sore ja nakute! Kare wa tada, tada tomodachi datte ba yo! (Huh? That's not it! He is just, just a friend!)" Naruto responded with a blush and with emphasis on the 'just a friend'.

"Demo, kare o suki da yo ne, ne? (But you like him right, right?)" Nagato teased him more.

"Suki ja nai. Itteru darou, tada tomo datte ba yo! Tomo, tomo! (I don't like him. I told you, he's just a friend! A friend, a friend!)" the blond denied again.

"Ochitsuke. Ore wa joudan shiteta dake. Okoranaide kudasai. (Calm down. I was just kidding. Don't get riled up.)" Nagato told the blond, holding his hands with his palms facing the blond as if to defend himself.

"Yamete kure futari tomo! Futari wa Nihongo ni hanashiteru koto wo kidzuita ka? (Stop it you two! Do you even realize that you're both speaking in Japanese?)" Konan scolded the two of them.

"Kiba wa nanimo wakaranai no tame ni, ore wa Nihongo ni hanashiteru. (I'm speaking in Japanese SO that Kiba wouldn't understand.)" Nagato reasoned.

"Shiru mon ka! (Like I care!)" Konan hissed.

Kiba looked at the three of them, really feeling out of place. That was not the first time he heard Japanese spoken like that since his mother speaks it fluently and he watches anime, but hearing it being used in a conversation between strangers and a guy he barely knew and with them speaking so fast, he just sat there in shock.

"Sorry about these guys Kiba. I hope that they didn't freak you out or anything." Konan said to the brunet.

"No, that's ok. It's not like I don't hear my mother speaking Japanese every day. Hehe." he laughed softly, his right hand at the back of his head.

Nagato decided to call it quits with his teasing and went up to his, Yahiko and Naruto's room. They were sharing one but it was the biggest room in the house. And with Nagato gone, peace came back into the living room.

"Can you really speak Japanese fluently?" Kiba asked the blond whose attention was now back to him.

"Well, not really fluent but as long as I know the words to use, I can speak it with ease. But it's only for everyday conversation, not for business matters. My dad wanted me to learn it since we have Japanese ancestry and so I started when I was in middle school. I learned by myself through online sources then dad would teach me when I couldn't get what the materials say. I can also write hiragana and katakana and the most commonly used kanjis." the blond said with great pride in himself.

"Wow. I suppose I won't have to get into the trouble of finding myself a tutor in Japanese class." the brunet smirked.

"I'll be happy to teach you, but that doesn't seem fair right? You already asked that I help you in Music classes and now in Japanese. So what are you going to teach me in return?"

"Hmmm… I don't know. Do you have problems in any subjects or something that maybe I'm good at?"

"That would be Math. I really suck at it." the blond admitted, his shoulders slumping.

"You're in luck. I totally rock in Math. It's a piece of cake to me!" said Kiba.

"Really? You're not just bragging are you?" Naruto said with slight doubt. Honestly, he didn't really think that Kiba was the 'smart' type.

"Of course I'm not just not bragging. Why would I make something up like that?"

"You wouldn't. So it's a deal then? I help you with Music and Japanese and you help me with Math." the blond reiterated, wanting to make sure.

"Ok deal." Kiba agreed.

Then both of them shook their hands, closing the deal they made. Konan came in a few minutes later with the snacks and they continued to watch the show as they talked more about themselves to each other. During the conversation, both of them thought that it was great that Kiba would be helping Naruto with Math and Naruto would be helping Kiba with his Japanese in addition to the music class. More tutoring means more time spent together, and that was what both guys wanted. Time flew by without them noticing until Kiba's phone rang. He pulled it out to see a text message from Shino asking him where he was and reminding him to come back to the dorms before the curfew. He checked the clock and saw that it was already 9 o'clock. Only 1 hour before curfew. If he arrived late, his parents would be called and that would mean trouble for the young Inuzuka.

"Oh Naruto, it looks like I have to return to the dorms. I didn't realize that it's already this late." Kiba said, looking apologetic and somehow disappointed that he had to return already when he wished he could stay 'cause he was having so much fun with Naruto.

"Ok. Well, see you tomorrow." the blond said.

"Yeah see you tomorrow." the brunet said back.

Naruto escorted him to the door and they said their farewells. Kiba was already at the roadside when he saw Naruto waving a hand at him. He waved back too and smiled at him though the blond would have missed it because it was already dark and the street lights weren't that much bright. The two couldn't wait for the next day but it wasn't only them who couldn't wait for it. There was one other.


	3. The First Move

Chapter 3

**The First Move**

"The 4th class together. Music." Kiba sighed to himself, feeling both happy and uninterested at the same time. As much as he hated the class, he was still very grateful to have it because would give him more time to be with Naruto. During the morning, he has Biology and Trigonometry with him consecutively, and then they would meet again during lunch. In the afternoon, there were no other classes with him except PE during Mondays. But Music class gave him two more days to spend with the blond during Wednesdays and Fridays.

"Don't be in such low spirits about it. Music is cool once you learn to appreciate it, especially when you're already playing."

"Yeah, but you see, I'm more of the active type. I like to jog, to lift weights, play ball and other stuff where you don't just sit on a chair to play some classical music. It's not like they're going to teach us how to play rock music. And more than that, this is HLA. It will definitely be orchestral music."

"If that's the case then sayonara to playing the guitar then. You'll probably have to play a French horn or a tuba." Naruto chuckled.

"Not helping Naruto, not helping." Kiba gave him a glare. Naruto though didn't seem to be fazed by this because he knew Kiba was just acting it.

They reached the room for the music class. It was bigger than the other rooms, about the size of three combined. There was a huge space in front, most likely were the chairs are placed when the students will be practicing once they learned their instruments. Different instruments were stored in the room. String, woodwind, brass and percussion, all the basics were there. No ordinary school would have been able to stock such a vast amount of instruments. A full orchestra could be made if people were to play each one.

"Whoa. This is definitely not what I expected. There's not even a single guitar in this place." said Kiba.

"I can always teach you how to play the flute. It is one of my specialties remember?" Naruto reminded him.

"Yeah I remember. I guess I just have to choose that so I won't have to find some other people to teach me their instrument. I am starting from scratch anyway so anything is okay." Kiba said. 'Just as long as I get to spend time with you.'

"Great." Naruto grinned.

They sat in the middle row, near the window again. Kiba sat nearest the window and Naruto on his right. There were about 30 students taking the class. Kiba couldn't believe why this many people were so interested in taking music classes. He was only forced by his mother but it's impossible all of them have been forced. 'What is with this school and music anyway?' he wondered.

Kiba decided to take a little nap and so he rested on the desk. There was still ten minutes before the class started and he wanted to rest for a while so he wouldn't get sleepy once the teacher starts talking about notes and stuffs, or rather, 'staffs'.

Naruto on the other hand stood up and was walking around the room to look at the instruments. He was so excited seeing all those instruments before him. He wanted to try them out but the storages they were kept in were locked. He could only see them through the glass covering. He was so excited to play his flute in a real orchestra but because they were still in the first week, none of that will be happening yet. He got back to his seat after checking out the instruments and when he glanced at the door with rotten luck, it was Sasuke who came in. Their eyes met and Naruto immediately looked away and turned to Kiba to start a conversation with him. He didn't want to do anything with the raven. He was so pissed at him for making fun of him during their Tekken fight in the arcade the day before. Kiba on the other hand was peacefully asleep on the desk that he couldn't wake him up.

"Hey there Naruto. It looks like I get to have another class with you, just after our Literature class." Naruto heard Sasuke say to him earning his attention.

"Well, ain't that awesome." he replied with fake glee. 'Why does he have to seat next to me and Kiba?' was what he really had in mind. Although he didn't really want to be talking with the raven right now, he still didn't want to show the raven that he was somehow avoiding him. He then chose to just act natural.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I swear I really didn't know it was you I was fighting. I'm hoping that it wasn't because of it that you decided to leave the arcade early." Sasuke said sincerely. At least he looked it.

"What? Of course not. You're good at that game so what you decide to do I have no say in it. I just need some more practice." the blond managed to show a fake smile and chuckle. 'What the hell is he thinking, apologizing like that? And he even has the audacity to tell me that he's feeling a little guilty that I left the arcade because of him. I so hate this guy.'

"I'm glad to hear that it wasn't my fault. Though it's such a pity that you wouldn't want to join our dojo. I really would enjoy sparring with you. You're one of the strongest I've fought, if you must know."

'I can't believe this guy. Now he's acting all humble and even saying I'm strong that he would want to fight with me again. If all I heard from Kiba is true, then this must not be the Sasuke he was talking about. If you're putting up all that act because you have something evil planned then I won't fall for it you bastard.'

"Thanks. You're really strong too." Naruto said. It was true, but Naruto wouldn't really want to say that to him. That's all act. He hated this conversation. He was hoping for the teacher to come in soon so that Sasuke would stop pestering him. And for that time, his wish was granted. A man with spiky dark hair came in, with a noticeable white bandage covering his right eye, and an x-shaped scar on his chin. He was holding a cane on his left hand as he walked towards the middle of the front of the room.

"Good afternoon everyone. I am Danzō Shimura and I will be your teacher and over-all facilitator for your music class. I will be responsible for teaching you the foundations of music but it will be volunteers from the seniors and those who have taken music before who will be teaching you how to play your chosen instruments. Those people here who can play their own instruments may also teach the others and this will earn them additional merits for this subject." the old man announced. He looked at the room and when he found that everyone was listening, he continued.

"This class will not just be any Music appreciation class. You are not just going to listen and then say your opinions about music. Here you will play and it is mandatory for you to learn at least one instrument. You will learn note reading and writing as well. This is HLA and we are famous for producing the best musicians out there. If you don't think you are up for it then I suggest dropping from this course once we finish the orientation. There will be no half ways. Once you start, you finish. Is everything clear?"

"Yes sir." everyone replied.

Mr. Shimura explained the outline of what will happen during the whole year. During the first quarter, it will focus on the background of Music and of course, the difficult note reading. Second quarter will focus on playing their instruments, and also polishing their note reading. During the third quarter, they will learn more about the key signatures and many different ornaments to music. And during the finals will be preparation for a performance. Of course only those who have excelled will be chosen which is quite a short time to learn and play an instrument well enough for a performance but then again as Mr. Shimura pointed out, this is HLA and they're the best in the field.

"Mr. Shimura?" Kiba raised his hand as he called the music teacher's attention.

"Yes."

"May we select the instruments we are to play?" the brunet asked.

"Yes you may. If you already have an instrument you can play, you may choose to play it. If you want to learn other instruments, you may also choose it. But if you haven't played any instruments yet, you may choose anything you want as long as the slots are not yet full. The instruments you will play will be decided today. Those who already made their choice, you may come forth and take a slot for that instrument. There is a set number of who will play which instruments. So for those who are already good with their own instruments, you will be prioritized if you choose your own instruments. We cannot have too many players for an instrument although if you want to learn that too, you may do so once you've mastered the instrument assigned to you." Mr. Shimura explained.

"So if you don't have anymore questions, you may line up to tell me your chosen instruments."

Almost everyone stood up. It was first come, first serve, so anyone who didn't want to end up playing anything they don't want hurried up and got their asses off their seats. This was not the case for Kiba.

"Hey Kiba, what's the matter?" Naruto asked him when he noticed that Kiba wasn't planning to get up any time soon.

"I don't know what I want to play yet." Kiba replied.

"Just choose the flute. I promise I'm going to teach you. It may be a little hard to play at first but it's like that with every other instrument. But at least you won't have to go to the trouble of finding someone to teach you." said Naruto. This made Kiba smile.

"Ok I choose the flute. But what are you going to play? Will you still play the flute or choose another instrument?"

"I've already mastered the flute so I'll choose a different yet similar one. I'll be playing the piccolo. It's like a half sized flute which is an octave higher."

"Sorry but I don't really understand what you mean by 'octave'."

"Don't worry about that now. You'll learn it in class. Now let's get in line so you won't lose your slot."

...

The weeks flew by and Kiba and Naruto were almost inseparable. They were always almost together. Shino who used to be Kiba's bestfriend was now just technically a friend. Kiba would still call him a bestfriend but Naruto was now like a _best-er_ friend. Shino really didn't mind though. He was most of the time hanging out with Kidōmaru, going at the schools gardens or at the park to collect insects. 'Boring' as Kiba would call it.

Kiba's goal was to become friends with Naruto. And now that he has already reached that, Goal # 2 was to drop signs. Drop signs that he likes Naruto, but not to tell him directly. Sometimes he would smile at the blond for a little bit longer than what normal friends would give each other or he would just look at Naruto when the blond wasn't looking and by the time the blond notices this, Kiba would stare for a little bit more so to make Naruto think about whether Kiba was staring at him and this will supposedly give the hints that he likes Naruto. Whenever he did this, he will study the reaction of Naruto and from that he will deduce whether there's a chance Naruto likes him too. Kiba already has a huge hunch Naruto's into guys too. But there are still chances he might be wrong because it was still too early. They've only known each other for 3 weeks and their friendship was still not as strong as those he had made with his old friends. What if he tells Naruto how he feels about him and Naruto becomes disgusted with him and doesn't want to be friends with him anymore? He couldn't even think what he would do if that happens. If in case Naruto doesn't like him the same way he likes Naruto, it will be okay if they can remain as friends. He'll find a girl he likes and move on. But losing the blond is not an option so he wants to be as careful as possible.

Naruto on the other hand was the opposite of Kiba. Yes he likes Kiba, but in no way was he ever going to be dropping hints that he likes him. In fact he will do whatever he can to keep it a secret. He was very shy, always blushing and so unintentionally always betraying how he feels about Kiba whenever the brunet tries to drop hints. And what's worse was, Naruto thinks Kiba is straight so the hints Kiba drops are immediately registered to his mind as just some friendly gestures or jokes.

But as said, it was only almost always that Kiba was with Naruto because during the afternoon, most of Naruto's classes were not taken with Kiba. Therefore Naruto is now plowing his way to the waves of students in the hallway as he tried to get to his next class which was Japanese. Unfortunately, the crowd was too thick that he didn't notice this big guy who was in his way, or more like Naruto was in his way because he bumped Naruto as if he was not there at all, too small to be noticed, causing him to drop two books he was carrying. The blond looked around to see who hit him but it was futile. He didn't even see who it was in the first place so anyone could have done that. Seeing no point in it he bent downward to get his books and that was when he felt it. It was a hand caressing his ass cheeks and he could even swear he felt a finger slightly poke him in his crack.

"Gahh!" he shrieked, almost like girl because of the pitch, getting the attention of the people in the crowd. Some were looking at him with curious looks on their faces. Others only looked for a second and went their way. Others looked at him with a face as if to say 'loser'. Naruto immediately felt the effects of this unforeseen attention and quickly ran as fast as he could away from those analyzing eyes. He couldn't take those look at him. He didn't want to be judged. He couldn't go through it again.

During his class, all Naruto could think about was figuring out who the pervert who touched his ass was. He swore that if ever he felt himself being molested again, he'll make sure to catch that clumsy hand and break it.

...

Another week passed by making it a month of school passed. But it was not without incidences. Every day for the rest of the week, Naruto felt a hand on his ass but every time he turned around, the perv was already gone. Naruto promised to catch this molester but how was he supposed to do it in such a crowded hallway? It always happened during times when the crowd was thick. He wanted to tell Kiba about this so he could help find out who the culprit was but it was too embarrassing so Naruto decided just to be careful next time and make sure to place a book behind his ass whenever he crosses the hallway.

Moving on, it was Monday morning and of course, the first period was Trigonometry and Naruto was so bored out of his mind. He hated Math, especially Trigonometry. When letters and symbols have already confused him in Algebra, they just have to make it even more confusing in Trigonometry and this made his head hurt more. Also he felt nature calling him so he decided to go out of the classroom to take a short break. That was the plan.

Reaching the comfort room, Naruto let his shoulders drop down as he felt relieved after doing his business in front of the urinal.

"Alright. Time to face reality again, which means stupid Math." he whispered to himself as he pulled his zipper up.

Turning around, he was surprised to see that it was not reality that he was going to be facing first but rather someone he wished he wouldn't have to bump into. Sasuke Uchiha. The raven was standing there, as if he was watching him the whole time he was taking a piss. This gave him the creeps. Who the hell watches others when they take a piss? And why didn't he even notice the raven come in the restroom? Was he really that stealthy that he didn't even make a sound? Not wanting to start a conversation with the raven, he scooted to the side so that he can pass him but his plan was thwarted by an arm blocking him in the chest.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked him with an evil looking smirk. Naruto immediately knew there was some kind of hidden intention that the raven had from the look on his face. Not really hidden that he couldn't notice it, but to guess about what it was, he wouldn't be able to do.

"I'm going back to class so if you would please let me pass." Naruto asked politely. He didn't want trouble with the Uchiha.

"Now why would I let you do that? I have a lot of questions to ask you and this is the perfect place to do it. There's no one to hear and no one to disturb us." Sasuke said.

And that was when Naruto started to get a little scared. Why the hell did Sasuke want to ask him questions and why in the restroom so that no other people could hear?

"Okay. Ask them already. I don't want to get detention for taking too long in the restroom." he said impatiently.

"Hn." Sasuke smirked again. 'This is going to be fun.'

"Are you gay?" he shot at him as if it was an everyday question and it caught the blond in surprise.

'What? Did he just ask me if I'm gay? What should I say? Of course I have to deny it. He's Sasuke, number one homophobic in school and also Karate champion.

"Why the hell are you even asking that? Of course I'm not gay you temē." Naruto denied. It was said so naturally one would think he was telling the truth, and saying the 'temē' part in the end only helped it to sound more convincing. But only to ordinary people. This was Sasuke and he wasn't ordinary.

"What did you just call me?" Sasuke asked him, raising one eyebrow.

'Oh shit. I just called him temē. I'm dead.'

"Nothing. I didn't call you anything." Naruto denied, but this time even a kid could see through it. He was starting to lose his cool.

"And so you didn't. Anyway, why are you denying it?"

"Denying what? I'm not denying anything. You must have just thought you heard me call you something."

"I'm not delusional, dobe. And that's not what I'm asking about. I'm asking why you're denying that you're not gay." Sasuke reiterated.

"Because I'm not. What part of that don't you understand? Don't you speak English? Or maybe you would like me to say it in another language. Ore wa homo ja naku tte ba yo, temē."

"Sou desu ka? Omae wa… tashika ka, dobe?" Sasuke brought one hand to his chin as if to look like he was thinking.

'I can't believe he speaks Japanese too. What the hell is he trying to…' thought Naruto but he was interrupted as he felt an arm push him towards the wall. He tried to break free but Sasuke held his other arm, effectively pinning him against the wall.

"Come on. Someone as cute as you can't possibly be straight. And you've got quite a nice package by the way, and you're a natural blond." the raven commented.

"Hentai! You watched me take a piss and even looked at my…" Naruto paused. He couldn't say the word. He was blushing so much that if he said the word he might hyperventilate or something.

"Sorry. I couldn't really control myself. Especially when you're this close to me, near my reach." Sasuke held his right hand up and brushed it at Naruto's cheek. It sent shivers down the blond's spine, somehow rendering him unable to move.

'What the hell is he talking about? It's almost like he's telling me he's…' Naruto thought but was cut short as the raven continued.

"You're telling me you're not gay. Well then answer me. Why do you always look at Inuzuka like you have a crush on him? No one can fool my eyes. And you know how powerful my eyes are. I can see the way you look at him during lunch and during our music classes." 'And how that dog looks at you as well.' he silently added in distaste.

"I…" For 5 seconds, only silence followed. Would denying it even convince Sasuke? His actions and his eyes were already selling him out. And Sasuke was right there looking at him at point blank. He couldn't make a lie. Sasuke's eyes will perceive every sign of it. Any hesitation, eye movements, breathing pattern, his eyes can analyze them all.

"Tell me. Why can't you answer?" he demanded.

"I don't like Kiba like that. I already told you. I'm not gay." Naruto still tried but his voice quivered. Why was he so afraid of Sasuke?

"That's what you say. But I know one way to make sure of that." the raven whispered.

"Wh…"

Before the blond could even ask, Sasuke's lips were now clashing with his own. After finally realizing this he tried to get Sasuke off but the raven only grabbed him tighter and pushed his lips against the blond with more force. Surprisingly, Naruto found himself kissing back. Even the blond couldn't fathom why he was responding.

'What am I doing? I should be struggling to get him off me. I'm supposed to hate him, to hate what he's doing right now. But why? Why can't my body even try to get away from him? Why does this feel so good? But… why is he even kissing me in the first place? Is he gay? Wait, I need to breathe. I need air.'

"Sasuke stop, I need to breathe." he uttered as he managed to push Sasuke off and pull away from the kiss. They were both panting. Sweat was already starting to drop from their foreheads. Their hearts were beating faster and stronger that one could possibly hear them if they listened.

"I guess that proves my suspicions." Sasuke said confidently. No reply came from the blond. There was neither denial nor any admission. But that was all the confirmation Sasuke needed. The silence meant yes.

"Why did you kiss me?" asked the blond.

"Because I wanted to." the raven replied.

"And wh- why is that?" the blond stuttered, as if not really wanting to ask it in fear of the answer.

"Because I like you."

Silence.

Naruto couldn't believe what he just heard. He tried to think of all the reasons that the Uchiha must have been joking. He's Sasuke, the school's heartthrob who can get any girl he wants. In fact he already has a girlfriend, Karin, whom Naruto found out just a week ago to be a long distance relative of his. And lastly, he's Sasuke, known hater of homosexuals. This must be a joke. Yes, just a move to confirm his theories about Naruto. In the end he will beat him up sometime in the near future just like what he did to all the others. But would a straight guy really kiss another guy just to know if they're gay or not?

"You're not fooling me Sasuke so stop the acting already. What do you really want with me? I'm gay alright but if you're going to beat me up just because of my preferences like what you did to all the others in your middle school then do it already. I'm not going to go down without a fight." Naruto said with confidence. It was like he himself was asking to fight Sasuke. To hell with being afraid of him. Naruto needed to stand up for himself and stand up he will.

"How bold of you to think that you even have a chance if you fight back against me. But you know what? It only makes me want you more."

"Why do you keep saying that you want me? You're not gay Sasuke. Why are you messing with my head?"

"I'm not messing with your head. I really do like you and I'm telling you that this is not a joke." the raven explained. Sasuke grabbed one hand of Naruto and brought it closer to him. "Then tell me, if I don't really like you and I'm not gay, then would I be having this?"

Naruto felt his hand being tugged but before he could even react, he was already cupping Sasuke's erection. Realizing this, he pulled his hand right away. If he didn't, he would have put himself into something he wouldn't be able to turn away from. He didn't know what he should do, what he should believe in. All he knew was that he liked whatever it was Sasuke was doing to him physically. Unable to decide what to do next, he just let his instincts guide him before his head explodes so before he knew it, he was running for the door and now out of the comfort room, heading back to his classroom.

He stopped when he was near the door. He leaned on the wall to regain himself first. 'Breathe in, breathe out.' he ordered to himself. He needed to calm down. He needed to think straight (not as in think hetero). He needed to force any thoughts of Sasuke and what just happened in the comfort room out of his head. There will be time to do that later but now he would probably get detention for taking too long in the restroom. 'Yes, just think about that. Thinking about detention is the best thing to do now.' he told himself.

When he felt that his heart had already stabilized back into normal beating, he slid open the door of the classroom. It was a good thing that nobody minded him. Everyone was busy solving the problems in their seatwork and Mr. Tazuna was also busy checking the answers of those who have finished early.

"What the hell took you so long?" Kiba asked him, his face full of worry. "I thought you'd slipped or something that I would have had to come out of this room to check on you if you didn't return a minute from now."

"Sorry. I got bored in class so I took my time to stretch some muscles. I'm kind of sleepy." he said casually, even yawning to convince Kiba. It was the first period so it was believable. Even Kiba was still asleep at 8:30 during the weekends so the brunet bought it. Someone has to give Naruto a medal because he said it like nothing happened just 3 minutes ago. Quite a very good actor the blond kid was.

"Ok then. If you say so… you better just start solving the problems. You've already lost 7 minutes." Kiba pointed out. The blond agreed.

"I hate Math. I don't understand a thing in here so what's the point of even trying to answer?" Naruto whined when he saw the figure and the question below it.

What is the sine of angle A if the opposite side is 3 meters and the hypotenuse is 6 meters?

That was the first problem and the blond kid was already chewing his pencil's eraser. He so needed help.

"Pssst. Kiba." he whispered to the brunet. Kiba looked at him with an amused face. "Can I borrow your paper?"

"What? Of course not. That's cheating and I don't want to get into any trouble." Kiba replied. He couldn't risk it and as much as he wanted to help the blond, he can't do it if it involves doing something like cheating. He was a good boy in school. Not the best but good enough. And of course, if he ever did get caught cheating, or at least an accomplice in cheating, his mother was so going to kill him. Literally.

"But I really don't get any of this." Naruto reasoned.

"Don't worry about it. It's just a seatwork. I told you before that I'd teach you in Math right? Why don't you come with me at my dorm after class and I can teach you." Kiba suggested.

"Really? Thank you Kiba." the blond said gratefully. And he didn't try to even look at the other numbers. He just thought about what would happen later. He got an F for the seatwork that's for sure.

A/N: So how was that? Are they so much out of character? Naruto's so uke but I've decided to make him like that and to make Sasuke a horny pervert. Kiba's the good guy. So basically, Sasuke's already showed his intentions to Naruto and is one step ahead of Kiba. So our brunet should make his move now or else, he'll lose to Sasuke.


	4. Am I Making You Nervous?

Chapter 4

**Am I Making You Nervous?**

"Welcome to our humble abode." Kiba said as he opened the door to his and Shino's dorm. Unlike those dorms that only had a single room with a small kitchen and a bathroom, the one they've rented has its own living room where the kitchen is also found and a separate room for the beds and bathroom.

"This place is nice. You even have your own couch. And whoa!" Naruto screamed as a huge blur of white appeared in front of him and tackled him to the ground. He turned his head up to find a very wet tongue licking him on the face.

"Eeww! Kiba get him off of me." he screamed at the brunet for help.

"What, you don't like dogs?" Kiba chuckled.

"Not when they're covering my face with saliva."

"Ok. Come on Akamaru." The dog happily wagged its tail and jumped onto Kiba, giving time for Naruto to stand up and wipe the drool on his face with his handkerchief.

"You know, since it's the first time I've been to your place, and because your dog just covered me with slober, why don't you order us some pizzas Kiba?" Naruto suggested.

"You're the guest and you're the one who's making me order food?" Kiba asked, surprised that Naruto actually said something like that.

"You invited me so it's natural you serve the food."

"Yeah but you didn't have to say it. I was planning on ordering anyway. Just make yourself at home and I'll just be changing clothes. You can turn on the TV if you want." Kiba gave Naruto the remote.

"Sure, then you can teach me Trigonometry."

"That is why we're here."

"Hey, are those Shino's bugs?" Naruto asked curiously. He went closer to an aquarium which keeps a huge beetle with a horn.

"Yeah they are. Shino only keeps some in here, his other pets are at their house and his father takes care of them while he's here in school. This one's a Rhinoceros beetle, I think." Kiba said as he joined Naruto to look at the beetle. "Creepy wouldn't you say?"

"They are but also kind of cool when they're not flying towards you like the cockroaches."

"Now that's scary." the brunet agreed.

When Naruto was done looking at the beetle, Kiba went to the other room to go get changed. Naruto sat on the couch and lazily turned on the TV and surfed through the channels, stopping at Animax, which was showing Hunter x Hunter.

Minutes later Kiba came out of the other room dressed in cargo shorts and a black body-fit sleeveless shirt. The sight almost made Naruto drool. Kiba's chest was built enough you could see its outline in the shirt and his arm muscles were very defined and with a little bulk. Naruto suddenly wondered what it would feel like to touch them.

"Hey Naruto. You done staring at me?" Kiba asked in a teasing manner.

"Huh?" a confused and very much caught Naruto replied. "What? Iwasnotstaringatyou. I was bu- busy thinking... about something and I just happened to look your way. Anyway you should start tutoring me." Naruto said abruptly, thinking again of plausible explanations why he looked at Kiba longer than he should have. He was like a kid caught with his hand on a cookie jar by his mother.

"Ok. I've already called the pizza and they'll be here after 20 minutes so let's go to my desk." Kiba motioned to his room where his study table was.

"Sure."

They started with the basics, the right triangle. Kiba tried his best to explain to how the sine, cosine and tangent were used to determine the angle of the vertices or the length of the sides of the triangle using the value given by the calculator and Algebraic equations. That was a lot to take for Naruto so after around 20 minutes, Kiba decided to give him a break. Pizza arrived just in time for the break and they ate for a while then continued their tutoring.

Kiba decided that it was time to make his move. He had a strong suspicion that Naruto's gay and evidences to back that up so maybe what he was planning to do shouldn't make the blond uncomfortable. Because if Naruto was straight then Kiba would have received a black belt Karate punch in his face.

Naruto was busy answering the problems Kiba gave him. His eyes were focused intensely on the paper. And this was a very good opportunity for Kiba to look at the blond. Naruto looked so innocent. Why couldn't he see that Kiba likes him, after all the hints that the brunet gave him, he should have realized that Kiba sees him more than just a friend. Or if he did realize, he definitely had a good way of showing ignorance to it.

"No you don't use the sine for that one. Remember, the code is SOH, CAH, TOA. Since the given values are the adjacent side and the hypotenuse, you need to use the cosine." Kiba corrected him, trying to speak in a low, and husky voice. He grabbed the eraser and purposely let his hand touch with Naruto's before erasing the answer Naruto wrote. This happened a lot of times, accidental touches where both of them looks at each other and Naruto shies away while Kiba just looks at his reaction, smiling. After about thirty minutes more, they decided it was time to call quits on Trigo. They were tired and Naruto couldn't input anymore in that brain of his. But maybe he couldn't put it in his head because Kiba was just so distracting.

"You see. Math's not that difficult." Kiba said as he laid back on his chair and put his arms behind his head.

"Well I have you here to help me. I don't understand a thing if it's Mr. Tazuna who teaches it. He's boring."

"Yeah? So I'm not boring?"

"Of course you're not. You're really cool Kiba."

"You too. What time is it by the way?" asked Kiba. Naruto took a glance at his watch.

"It's already 6:10. I guess I still have about an hour and half before I need to go home. And where is Shino by the way?"

"Him? Oh, he's out with Kidōmaru. They're going bug-catching at the park. There are many trees there so it's perfect."

"But it's a school night."

"Don't worry about him. 10 PM's the curfew for our dorm and I think they've also invited some other guys to join them so they should be safe."

"Ok. So what do you want to do?"

'You don't know how many things I want to do with you Naruto.' Kiba thought but in no way was he going to say that.

"I don't know. What about you?"

"You threw the question back at me. Oh well, can I borrow your flute?"

"My flute? You want to play?"

"Uh huh. Maybe I can give you a little inspiration you know. It's a really good instrument and the sound is really relaxing."

"Sure. Just let me get it."

Kiba went in front of his cabinet, slid open a drawer and took out the flute case inside. It was the flute that was lent to him by the school so that he could practice even at home. Since they haven't really started on playing the instruments yet, he didn't have a clue yet on how to play it.

Kiba took a seat on his bed and signaled for Naruto to join him there.

"Here you are my sensei." Kiba said as he gave Naruto the flute case.

"Sensei? Oh yeah, I did promise I'll teach you, so this will be your first lesson, my student."

"I'm eager to learn, sensei." Kiba enthusiastically said as he grinned from ear to ear. Naruto thought it was cute and he blushed at the sight. The 'sensei' honorific was too much for him.

"You know, let's just not do the 'sensei' and 'student' stuff."

"Why not?"

"It feels… kinda weird. You know, 'cause we're the same age. And it's not like I'm a master in flute."

"Okay." Kiba said with a hint of disappointment.

"Let's see here." Naruto opened the case and found the three parts of the flute. "Ok. Headjoint, then body, then foot joint." he said as he combined the three parts together to make the flute. He tried out the keys first to see if they were working properly and if they had a perfect fit with the holes and were airtight. Happy with the check-up, he brought the mouthpiece to his lips and almost started playing but suddenly remembering something.

"Hey, is it okay to play here in your dorm? Won't the others who live here complain?"

"Nah don't mind them. Besides, it's only 6:10 so it's not like they're already here. And the windows and door are closed so they won't hear it as loudly as we do."

"Right." Placing the mouthpiece again on his lips, he started to play. It was a sad song. It was like something a person would play when they're lonely and from the way Naruto played it, Kiba couldn't help but wonder why the blond chose such as song. He could see it in Naruto's eyes and by the way he moved when he played. His emotions were flowing through the flute and it was resonated by the instrument and those who heard it would also feel what the player was feeling.

"That was beautiful." Kiba said when Naruto brought down the flute, signaling the end of the song. "What's it called?"

"Sadness and Sorrow." the blond replied.

"I never thought such an instrument could bring out that much emotion. You play really good." Kiba complimented him.

"Thanks, and you will too once you learn how to play and with enough practice." the blond said encouragingly.

"So can you teach me, even if just a little of the basics?"

"Yeah." Naruto pulled the headjoint out the body. "Hold this for me." Kiba took the rest of the flute and placed it on the bed.

"This is the headjoint and if you want to play, this is where you practice making your first tune." Naruto placed the mouthpiece of the headjoint on his lips and blew, creating a smooth tone.

"Give that to me. I think even I can blow on a hole." Kiba said and Naruto complied, though he was smirking evilly. Kiba grabbed the headjoint and placed it on his mouth.

"Hey wait! Aren't you going to wipe it off first? My saliva's still on the mouthpiece."

"It's no big deal Naruto. It's not like you have rabies do you?" he asked although what he was thinking was, 'No way I'm going to wipe this off Naruto. It's like an indirect kiss with you and once it's your turn, it will be an indirect kiss from me to you. Did I just think that? I'm getting sappy.'

"Of course not. If anyone has rabies, it might as well be you, Dog-Breath." Naruto laughed. That was a good one.

"Yeah, yeah." Kiba didn't seem to be annoyed with the nickname. It was only on a few occasions that Naruto would use it and he kind of liked the nickname, or more like a pet name. 'I really have to think of a nickname for Naruto too.' he thought. Kiba adjusted his lips again on the mouthpiece and inhaled through his nose. "Ok, here I go."

Ppppfffftttthhhhh

"Hahahahaha!" Naruto laughed uncontrollably. "Thought it was that easy to make a sound on a flute huh? Pppffffttthhh. Hahahaha!"

"Hey, quit laughing. I'm trying to make a sound here." Kiba grumbled. He tried blowing on it again but produced the same results.

'What is wrong with this thing? Why the heck won't it sound?' Kiba thought impatiently.

"Alright. You seriously need help. Well that is expected. Anyone who tried to blow into the flute for the first time will not be able to make the sound. I'll instruct you." Naruto moved towards Kiba.

"Ok. Just tell me what to do."

Naruto grabbed the headjoint from Kiba and showed him how to properly place it. He also demonstrated how to position the lips and what the hole in the lips should look like. Then he blew on the mouthpiece and produced a smooth tone.

"You get the picture?" Naruto asked, giving Kiba the headjoint for him to try.

But Kiba was sort of stuck on what Naruto just did. Didn't Naruto realize what he was doing to Kiba? Oh yeah, he didn't because he was too oblivious of his actions since he was thinking more on the instructions. And there Naruto was, instructing Kiba on how to place the lips on the mouthpiece without ever thinking what those actions could possibly make Kiba think. He was moving his lips, protruding and retruding it, licking his lips when there's too much saliva on it, and then blowing on the mouthpiece. Kiba just stared at that soft ring of muscle. He was already thinking about kissing those red lips of Naruto and he wondered if being good in flute will translate to being good in kissing, because he was a master at controlling those lips of his. And that blowing, he wondered if Naruto was also good at blowing other stuff.

"Kiba? Hey, Kiba!" Naruto called him, trying to snap him out of his daydream.

"Huh?" Kiba asked, confused.

"You were staring at nothing. Did you even listen to what I told you? Hey, why is your face so red?" he asked innocently. Kiba's eyes grew wide 'cause now it was his turn to be caught.

"Uh, sorry Naruto. I need to go to the bathroom."

Kiba rushed out of the bed room, his heart beating like crazy. Since when did he feel this way? Think of such things especially in front of his crush? He was bi, yes. He liked both girls and guys and he knew that since he was 12. So it's just natural for him to think about Naruto that way right? But what Naruto's doing was too much for him. Those lips. He didn't know how long he could hold himself before claiming them.

'Kiba, get a hold of yourself. You've just been friends with him for about a month and you don't want to break that friendship with one wrong move.'

'Come on Kiba. Just kiss him already. If you resort to the indirect approach, it'll take forever for Naruto to figure out you like him.'

'But I can't do it. What if he doesn't like me back? Or what if he's straight and I'm just mistaken about my suspicions.'

'How the hell can you be mistaken? Can't you see how nervous he gets when you get too close to him, and how he blushes when you drop hints sometimes? He's probably just shy and he thinks you're straight that's why he couldn't take the hints.'

'What should I do?'

'Whatever your heart tells you.'

'Huh. What kind of an advice is that? Even my conscience is getting sappy.'

'It's not like you're going to listen to me anyway and just kiss the blond already.'

'Ok, just shut up already.'

Kiba washed his face, hoping it will get rid of the redness in it. It took him long enough in the bathroom so Naruto's probably waiting for him to come out anytime soon. Deciding that his body had calmed down, he got out of the bathroom and found Naruto already seated on the couch in the living room.

"What happened? Why'd you suddenly ran for the bathroom?"

"I uh… realized that I had to pee since I drank a lot of water when we were studying a while ago." came his stupid excuse.

"But that isn't supposed to feel that sudden, is it?" Naruto questioned.

"Just teach me how to blow this thing Naruto." Kiba said, wanting to change the subject. He couldn't just say 'Oh, I went to the bathroom because I was near the point where I wouldn't be able to hold myself back before I ravish those lips of yours.'

"Okay." the blond complied. "So, place it again on your lips."

Kiba placed them again, this time, trying to imitate what he remembered Naruto doing a while ago.

"Hold both ends with your hands and then place your lower lip on the mouthpiece so that it rests on the edge of the hole, partially covering it." Naruto instructed.

"Like this?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, like that. Just let me adjust it a little bit." The blond did just that and all Kiba could do was stare at the boy in front of him. He was so close and they were face to face, from time to time glancing at each other's eyes. His heart was beating faster again.

'I wonder if Naruto's feeling the same way I do.' he thought. He looked at the blond but he couldn't see if Naruto was feeling nervous about being this close as he was. The tables seemed to have turned upside down now because a while ago, it was Kiba who made the blond fidgety when they were studying Math and now here he was, under the blond's power.

"Now, close your lips and try to blow out air. You have to control it so that only the required amount comes out. Only blow the amount that will get your lips to open, but not to open too wide. You need to make the hole as thin as possible so that the air will only go into the hole of the mouthpiece and not be dispersed all around it." the blond did his best to explain, but it was harder than it looked. Even giving the instructions was hard.

Kiba tried to do what Naruto said and unsurprisingly, it was difficult. Moving his lips to form the required size and shape of the flute embouchure (the shape of the mouth and lips when playing a woodwind instrument) was very hard and combined with the display of Naruto's lips in front of him as a distraction, it was almost impossible.

"Try to bring your lips to the side, like when smiling but don't angle it upwards. There, you almost got it. Now try to blow across the hole, not through it. Focus the air on to the edge of the hole opposite where your lips are placed. If you hit it dead-on, it will bisect the air because of its sharp edge and then you will produce a tune because of the vibration."

Kiba couldn't follow anything that Naruto said and just tried his best to do what he thought would work.

'Here goes nothing.'

Ppppfffftttthhhhh

"Naruto, it doesn't work!" he complained.

"Calm down Kiba. You just need to practice. It's only your first try and you're already complaining. I'll teach you again some other time."

"Yeah, I suppose that's enough for today. I'm tired and you need to go home. It's already 6:40."

"That's still early Kiba. Remember, you went home at 8 PM when you first came over at my place."

"But that's because it was the first week of school and we didn't have much to do. But on the other hand, you still have to draw the animal and plant cells for our Biology homework." he reminded the blond.

"Ah, I forgot. Thanks for reminding me Kiba. I guess I'll be going then. They're probably already waiting for me since I forgot to tell them I was going to your place."

"Do you want me to walk you home?"

"Oh, no I'm okay. My place is just a little walk from here so you don't need to trouble yourself for that, Kiba. And besides, it is still early."

"Yeah. Well then, see you tomorrow."

"See ya. Bye Akamaru!" Naruto waved at the dog.

Woof! The dog barked in acknowledgement.

Naruto got out of the door and said his 'bye' to Kiba which the brunet said in return. Kiba closed the door with only one thought in his head.

'Uzumaki Naruto. The things you do to me.'

...

"Where in the world have you been? You didn't even give us a text message, and it's already 7 PM." Konan asked in worry, after opening the door for Naruto.

"Sorry. I was at Kiba's and he was tutoring me at Math and I kind of forgot to text you guys." the blond explained, scratching his head.

"Hmmm. I suppose I could let that pass for today since you're so eager to spend time with your boyfriend." Konan teased.

"He's not my… Uhhh, how many times do I have to tell you that he's just a friend Konan-neesan?" he grumbled.

"Come on just admit it Naruto. We all know you like him. We only see you so cheerful whenever Kiba spends his afternoon here." she pointed out.

"Alright, alright. I like him. So don't bother me about it anymore. And you, why don't you just admit that you like Yahiko too?"

"What makes you say that you squirt?" Konan challenged.

"Okay, first, because even if he's like a brother to you, I have noticed that you started to act nervous around him starting about a few years ago." Naruto said, raising one finger. "Second, I can see you tense up every time Yahiko mentions the 'hot chicks' he checks out at school. And third reason is that you're blushing red as I speak." the blond enumerated, counting on his fingers.

"…"

"See? You don't even know what to say. Silence means yes, doesn't it?"

"I… I don't like him like that. And like what you said, he's my brother so why would I see him that way?" she reasoned out nervously.

"You're adopted siblings so you're technically not blood related, so a relationship with him would work in theory. So just stop denying it."

Konan thought about responses that would work but none came so she sighed and let her shoulders drop.

"Ok, you got me Naruto. Just don't tell him or anyone else and you won't have to worry about me telling Kiba that you like him." she begged, her hands in a prayer position and she was wearing a puppy-dog face.

"Sounds like a good deal to me. I accept." Naruto nodded. "So, deal?"

"Deal." she sighed, utterly defeated in her own game.

A/N:

You guys all know that Sasuke already made the first move but here it is Kiba's turn though it didn't prove to be as 'bold' and as straight to the point as Sasuke's. Wonder how he's going to win against the Uchiha at the rate he is going. And what about Naruto? Who will he choose between the two? The one he likes who he thinks is straight but actually likes him too, or the one whom he already knows likes him but he thinks is a bastard.

How funny Naruto reversed his and Konan's position, don't you think?


	5. Your Guardian Angel

Chapter 5

**Your Guardian Angel**

It was Friday and Naruto was walking down the street towards home after finishing his Music class with Kiba although the brunet was not with him that afternoon because he went out training with Shino at the gym. This happens every once in a while so the blond really didn't mind although walking home with the brunet was something he had gotten used to making his walk home feel somehow incomplete. And it wasn't like bad things could possibly happen if he walks alone without Kiba. Well, today will tell us.

He was just walking home, carefree when he suddenly tripped on a crack on the street and it caused him to lunge forward. Seriously, someone who knows Karate could be tripped by a crack in the street? Yes they could but not fully. He managed to get his balance before falling to the ground but unfortunately, it was not the ground in front of him but rather three guys who were all about 6 inches taller than him and they're not just the ordinary tall guys. They were the guys who spelled 'trouble'.

"What the fuck!? You made me spill my drink you twerp." the guy in the middle whom Naruto bumped into shouted as he turned to face the blond.

"I'm so sorry. Please, let me buy you a new one." Naruto said, almost stuttering when he saw who it was that he just messed with, even if it was accidental. He realized that things were going to end badly for him.

"Huh?! Did I hear that right? You're gonna to buy me a new one?" the guy asked in a mocking and sarcastic tone.

"Yes." Naruto didn't know what to reply. He knew that buying the guy a new drink was not going to cut it. But it was worth a shot wasn't it?

"Hey, did you hear him say that?" the guy asked the other two beside him. They just laughed.

"Dream on punk!" the guy shouted as he grabbed Naruto by the collar of his jacket and shoved him against a wall. Naruto felt his head hit the wall and it made him dizzy. The other two guys were laughing, obviously waiting for their turn to beat up the blond. They were the guys who were waiting for any reason to get into a fight. The blond was disoriented and they easily dragged him in an alley where no one would see what they would do to the poor kid.

"Please, don't hurt me. I'm sorry." Naruto was on the verge of crying, his body already shaking with fear but it did him no good. A solid punch landed on his stomach and not a second later, another one on his face and a third on his chest. He felt the pain shoot up his spine, his breath taken out of him. He fell on his knees and then to the ground holding his stomach, writhing in pain. He was coughing but at least no blood was coming out.

"Please stop. It was an accident. I'm sorry."

"Accident my ass." the guy chuckled. "You should try to look where you're going next time and not pick the wrong guys to mess with."

Naruto's pleas were heard by deaf ears when the other two started kicking and stomping on him on his legs and on his back. He was curled up, his arms protecting his head and his legs protecting his stomach. But still it took the damage.

"Kiba. Help." he murmured weakly.

'Damn it. This is just like the last time. Why can't I fend for myself?' he thought silently, tears forming on his eyes. He already gave up and decided to just wait it out, hoping he was still alive once the trio got tired and lose interest. He was starting to lose consciousness but a 'snap' that he heard brought him back from his stupor.

'That sounded just like a bone breaking. But I don't feel the pain.' he thought. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see unexpected help has arrived.

"Fuck, my arm! You son…" one of them screamed in excruciating pain but it was cut off by a kick to his cheek which immediately knocked him unconscious.

"Who the fuck are you?!" one of them shouted as he charged and tried to land a kick on the newcomer but his leg was caught and an elbow was dropped on his thigh and before he could feel the pain from it, a foot met his chin causing him to fall backwards. The last of the trio saw what happened and couldn't think rationally after seeing two of his gang getting beat up and he also attacked without thought. The mysterious newcomer ducked and spun, his leg sweeping the charging attacker's leg and it made him fall forward. Pain shot up his spine, immediately noticing that it came from two of his legs which the newcomer had almost broken with the stomp that he gave him following his sweep attack. The three of them were down. Unluckily for the one who received the first attack, he now has two broken bones, one radius and one ulna. That mysterious savior of Naruto knew how to fight without remorse. He probably tried his best to hold back because if he didn't, they probably would be dead or under comatose in the hospital, swimming in their drool. But still he couldn't be that bad. After all, he did kick the guy with the broken arm in the face, knocking him unconscious. At least he wouldn't feel the pain from his now separated bones.

"Hey, are you alright?" the savior asked which was a dumb question. Of course Naruto was not fucking alright.

"Sa-sasuke?" the blond managed to utter as he finally recognized his savior.

"Yeah it's me. Let's get you out of here." He picked up the blond, carrying him bridal-style. He didn't want to just carry him over his shoulders like a sack of rice. Sasuke turned back to the trio and warned them.

"Mess with him again and I promise I will have you assassinated and no one will ever find your filthy bodies!" he threatened, his voice reeking of malice. His eyes were blood red, piercing through the souls of those they laid upon. The two who were still conscious just nodded, their bodies paralyzed with fear as they faced the wrath of the Uchiha. Sasuke turned away and carried Naruto out of the alley.

"Thank you for helping me." Naruto said softly, unable to speak in his usually vibrant voice due to the pain on his chest. Wincing on his eye was noticeable as he spoke.

"Shhh. Just rest for now okay. We need to get you to a doctor." Sasuke said to the blond.

"No. I don't want to go to the hospital." Naruto protested. "Please don't take me there." Sasuke didn't need to know the reason why but the look on Naruto's eyes was enough to convince him that he couldn't bring him to the hospital for some personal reason.

"Don't worry. We have a family doctor that I can call up anytime to check up on you." the raven assured him.

"Thanks." And with that the blond fell asleep in Sasuke's arms. The raven put him in his car and asked the driver to get them home.

...

"Hey you're awake. How are you feeling?" Sasuke asked the blond whose deep-blue eyes were starting to open. Sasuke was sitting on a chair beside the bed. He didn't move away from his spot ever since he brought Naruto to his room.

"Uhhnn!" Naruto groaned, holding his chest.

"Don't get up yet. You're hurt and there might be a few broken ribs."

"Sasuke? Where am I?" he asked, still trying to get out of his groggy state.

"You're in my room. I brought you here since you didn't want to go to the hospital. You were beat up by some guys for a reason I don't know. Do you remember what happened?"

The memories started to flood Naruto's mind. Tripping on a crack and spilling a guy's drink, then being lifted up from the ground by his shirt and the pain on stomach. He remembered hearing something snap and shouts of curses and then Sasuke carrying him.

"Yeah, I remember. Ughh!" he held again on his chest, feeling the pain when he spoke.

"Just try to rest for now. It would be bad if you injure your ribs more if you talk. I'll go get the doctor to check up on you now that you're awake." Sasuke stood up and went out of the room but just as he was opening the door, Naruto called him.

"Sasuke." The raven turned around to look at Naruto in the eyes. "Thank you."

"Hn." he just smirked, but it was a warm smirk.

Two minutes later the doctor arrived in the room and did a check-up on Naruto. He already checked on Naruto's injuries while he was asleep earlier and managed them but now that Naruto's awake, it would be easier to assess his overall condition and to ask for other subjective findings such as where the pain is or how much is it. So far, Naruto's injuries were only minor. There were small bruises where he was hit on his arms and on his legs which took the damage when he curled up to protect his head and trunk. His head was dizzy but there were no signs that there would be a problem. The doctor said that it was better if he took a chest x-ray to see if there were any fractured ribs. He was advised to rest for 5 days so that meant he would have to skip next week's Monday to Wednesday, seeing that it was Friday that day. The doctor prescribed him some painkillers which Naruto took one, and will be taking as needed. The doctor went on his way after he finished and Naruto thanked him.

"I've already called your guardian. I told him that you'll stay here for the night. He was worried but he agreed." Sasuke informed the blond when he entered the room.

"Thanks for that. He would have killed me if I've gone missing all of a sudden. Wait a minute, did you tell him what happened!?" Naruto asked, panic in his voice.

"I didn't. You said you didn't want to go to the hospital earlier so I figured that you also wouldn't want them to know what happened to you. I told him that you were just staying here because I invited you at home and you forgot about the time and it's already late. It's really strange that he bought that so easily. I did tell him my name though but he didn't even bother asking to speak with you or see if you really are here."

"I'm so glad you didn't tell him what really happened." the blond sighed in relief.

"Excuse me for asking but why don't you want to tell them that you got into a fight?"

"I… I can't tell you." Naruto said, almost sounding like a request.

"Ok. Then just tell me this. Why didn't you fight back when they hit you? You're a black belt in karate and could have easily taken those guys down even if they were larger than you. They didn't even prove much of a challenge when I wiped the floor with their asses." Sasuke questioned with unconcealed anger in his voice.

"I don't like violence Sasuke. Yeah I could have fought back but I didn't want to." Naruto replied. 'I couldn't. I was too afraid.'

"And look what happened to you!" Sasuke's voice rose, he was angry but the look on his face was more of worry. "If I hadn't shown up you would have gotten injured a lot, lot worse. You saw how they enjoyed what they were doing. It's disgusting. It made me so angry that I broke the arm of the first guy I Iaid my hands on." Sasuke was clenching his fists so hard his knuckles were turning even whiter, if that was possible.

"I'm sorry." Naruto whispered.

"It's okay. I'm just glad you're okay." Sasuke assured him. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really. What time is it by the way?" the blond asked, turning his head to see if he could find a clock.

"It's already 8 o'clock. You've passed out for quite some time." the raven informed him.

"I'll just eat tomorrow then."

"Ok. You can eat breakfast with me. My parents are on a business trip and my brother's in uni so they aren't home."

"I know I've said this already but, thank you again Sasuke."

"It was no big deal. You should sleep. Your body needs it."

"Yeah you're right. Good night." Naruto said as he put himself under the blanket.

"Good night." And with a move neither of them was expecting, Sasuke leaned forward and gave Naruto a kiss on his forehead. The blond blushed but didn't say anything about it. Sasuke turned off the lights in the room and closed the door. On the other hand, all Naruto could think about before falling asleep was Sasuke. And even in his dreams, it was Sasuke who appeared, replacing Kiba.

...

Naruto was having a strange dream. How was it strange? Well because instead of Kiba, it was Sasuke who was with him and they were doing something together. He was with Sasuke, someone he hated since the second day of school so where was the logic? He wondered why they were together but he found himself enjoying the others company so he discarded his earlier thoughts. He was looking at Sasuke and as was the raven at him. It was the first time he looked at him without thinking of him as a jerk. His hair was jet black, and his eyes, dark as the midnight sky. His complexion was almost as pale as ivory but it only made him look more beautiful. Naruto realized that Sasuke was utterly good looking and he was captivated with him and wondered why he hadn't notice this before about Sasuke. Why was he here with him? What happened that made it so? He continued his admiration of Sasuke and he heard him whisper.

"Naruto." the raven breathed out in a seductive voice.

"Sasuke." the blond whispered back. He watched as the raven leaned closer and pulled him, their lips meeting in a soft kiss. Naruto kissed back and the raven started to moan and so the blond did too. The kiss deepened with more passion, their lips were starting to bruise.

"Naruto." he heard the raven call his name again this time getting louder.

"Sasuke." he moaned back.

"Naruto."

"What?" Naruto found Sasuke a feet away in front of him rather than being mouth to mouth with him and it confused him a little. He was making out with Sasuke just now right? What happened?

"Good. You're awake. I got a little scared there because you were harassing my pillow." Sasuke pointed at it. There was drool all over it where the blond's mouth had ravished it. "And I think I heard you moaning my name too." Sasuke did hear Naruto and he wanted to see the reaction of the blond about it.

"What? Why would I be moaning your name, temē?" Naruto blushed, making Sasuke chuckle softly.

"Well you were and by the evidence left I'd say you were dreaming about making out with me." Again the raven pointed at the pillow.

"Hey it's okay. I mean you're gay and I'm hot so it's only natural to be dreaming about doing things with me." Sasuke was having fun with this. He was evil and couldn't help himself.

"There's no way I'd be dreaming about you temē!" Naruto restated as he threw the pillow at Sasuke. The raven caught it though.

"Hey I was only teasing you. And to inform you, it's already lunchtime and I'm sure that your stomach must be grumbling." And both of them heard it. Gggrrroowwl!

"Yeah I'm starving." Naruto admitted as he slowly rubbed his belly.

"Lunch is downstairs. You can come down once you freshened up. We're having beef steak with mushroom. Sounds good?"

"Yeah."

"How are you feeling? Does your body still hurt?"

"Not really. I'm actually a fast healer. Just give me a good night's rest and I'm good as new." Naruto said cheerfully.

"I'll wait for you downstairs." Sasuke stood up from the bed and left the room. Naruto went to the bathroom and washed his face. He took a look at the damage he sustained and was glad that his face didn't swell that much. He saw a mouthwash on the cabinet and gargled with it, hoping Sasuke wouldn't mind. The situation really was weird. Here he was with this person he supposedly hated and it was like they were friends all of a sudden. But thinking about it, there wasn't really a reason why Naruto should hate Sasuke, was there? Sure he kind of shown off with the arcade incident but all Sasuke did was try to be friends with him. Well, except for the ass grabbing part and the incident last Monday in the men's comfort room.

So why did he hate Sasuke again? Oh yeah, it was because of what Kiba said. That was the only reason why he avoided Sasuke. But was that reason enough for him to hate the guy? Should he hate the raven just because he heard rumors which he didn't even know if they were completely true nor did he know what Sasuke's side on it is? It wasn't fair. Sighing at his realization, he decided it's time to go down and that maybe he should talk to Sasuke about it.

He had trouble finding the dining room. The house was so huge he needed to ask one of the maids to show him where to find Sasuke.

'Stupid Sasuke. Telling me to go downstairs for lunch and not even bothering to tell me where to find it. He's such a bad host.' he thought.

"Finally you arrived." Sasuke said, already seated around the dining table.

"Well it's your fault for not remembering to give me a map."

"Hn. Anyway it's not like the food's gotten cold so help yourself."

They started eating. It was beef steak but they also had rice. It was unusual but having Japanese ancestry, rice is a must on the table. It was a few minutes of eating before one of them decided to initiate a conversation.

"Hey, uhm…" Naruto started, catching Sasuke's attention. "I think this is really weird."

"What's weird?" Sasuke asked, curious as to what Naruto had to say.

"You know, it's not like we're friends or anything and here I am eating lunch at your house with you."

"But it's a good start, don't you think? I've been trying to be friends with you but you always avoid me. I don't know if it's because of the arcade game or maybe you just don't like me."

"It's not about the arcade game. It's just, I don't know how to explain this but your reputation kind of made me a little scared of you." Naruto admitted. In truth, Naruto was not just a little scared. He avoided Sasuke to the max and that didn't mean a little scared.

"My reputation? You have to be specific about that. I am at the top of class and the school's heartthrob among many other things." he enumerated.

"It's what Kiba said, you beating up gay students in the past years." Naruto said softly. Sasuke flinched at hearing the brunet's name but also hearing that what he did in the past was the cause of Naruto's repulsion, he couldn't help but feel ashamed. "When we met the first day I really thought we would make great friends but after hearing what Kiba said, I just avoided you because if we became friends and you found out that I like guys then you would..."

"Don't say it like it's your fault for avoiding me. I did notice you were avoiding me but I didn't get a little clue as to why until when you told me last Monday. I'm the one to blame for that. It's just that I was going through a phase, especially in middle school and…" he paused. He couldn't tell Naruto what happened. It was shameful, his reason. "I promise that I won't do it again. I know that it was wrong of me." Sasuke showed sincerity in what he said. Even Naruto could see it in his face.

"Yeah but I shouldn't have judged you just by some rumor I heard. All you did to me during the past month was tried to be nice, well except for discreetly groping my ass and what you did last Monday." Naruto pouted.

"What can I say? You are kind of irresistible."

"You know you really sound like a pervert, oh wait I almost forgot, you really are." Naruto chuckled. Sasuke took in that look on Naruto's face when he laughs and realized that he was getting addicted to it and that he just had to see more of it.

"I figured the best way to approach you was the direct one. And it's not like you didn't enjoy what we did last Monday?" the raven said, raising one eyebrow.

Naruto blushed. He was unable to comment on that. Yes, he did enjoy it but he wasn't going to admit that to Sasuke. He was still trying to sort out what he felt about it and hasn't come up yet with a solid conclusion. Sasuke just smirked at his reaction.

"So uhmm… are we like friends now?" Naruto asked.

"That is what I've wanted from the beginning. But if you want we can be more." the raven suggested.

Naruto blushed again. Was Sasuke asking him to be his boyfriend?

"Oh. But I think it's better if we become friends first and besides you already have a girlfriend." Naruto said, getting the idea Sasuke wanted to deliver.

"Weren't you listening last Monday? I told you I'm gay. As in I don't like those annoying and clingy girls. Karin's just a cover so that the fan girls will stay away from me." Sasuke revealed which kind of surprised Naruto. It wasn't that unusual to see Sasuke making out with Karin in the hallways or at lunch much to the other fan girls disappointment.

"But does she know about it?"

"Of course she does. I'm not one to use other people and especially play with their feelings. She said she was happy to do it as long as she gets to hug me and kiss me and other..." Sasuke couldn't say more as he was grossed out by it. He felt his skin forming goose bumps.

"I guess you're not such a bad guy after all, if what you say is true." the blond remarked.

"I'm not lying. Whatever I did in the past is because I was..." Sasuke paused again. He was about to tell it to the blond again but he wasn't ready.

"Because you were?"

"Never mind. But I regret it and I won't do it again so that's what matters."

"If you don't want to say it then don't. I believe you Sasuke. And anyway, I was thinking, since you and I are friends now, maybe you can come over at my place. It's my birthday next Thursday and I want you to come."

"Yeah sure, I'd love to. Who else are going to be there?" Sasuke immediately asked, even though he already had a clue on who they will be.

"My friends, you know, Kiba's group. It's not a party or anything, just food and drinks. It's not like I'm turning 21 or anything." he chuckled.

"That's fine with me. It's not like I was expecting alcohol to be there." Both of them chuckled at the statement. "But I don't really have that good of a relationship with your friends so they might not like it if I come over."

"You didn't do anything bad to them when you were in middle school did you?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"No but we don't actually speak with each other that much. The only one I talk with is Hinata."

"Hinata?" the blond was surprised. Of all the people in their group, why Hinata? She was so shy and can barely utter out a complete sentence without stuttering.

"Surprised? I would have guessed as much but she is my second cousin so I still meet her in family events."

"Does she know you're gay?" Naruto asked out flatly.

"I don't actually announce to the whole world about my preferences. What about you? Does your group know you like co…" Naruto interrupted him before he could even complete the word.

"Hey don't say that you pervert!" he shouted. "It doesn't mean if you're gay that you already like… that!"

"Why are you so flustered? So back to the question, do they know?"

"No they don't. I haven't told them." he replied.

'Good.' Sasuke thought.

"So, Naruto. Do you like co…" And that time he didn't finish because he became occupied with dodging a flying spoon towards his direction. Sasuke took the point and didn't bother Naruto about that anymore.

They continued talking more about each other and they finished eating their food at about past 1 PM. Seeing that it was already afternoon, Naruto asked Sasuke if he could go home.

"Sasuke, thanks for helping me yesterday. I would like to stay but I don't want to worry my guardian so would you be kind enough to give me a ride home."

"Not a problem."

...

"There, where the red car is parked." said Naruto. The driver stopped at where Naruto pointed.

"Thanks for giving me a ride Sasuke, and especially for yesterday."

"No big deal, really." 'Hate me for this but I'm actually glad you got in to trouble and I was there to help you.' Sasuke thought but he wasn't going to tell Naruto that.

"See you on Monday." the blond said as he opened the door of the car.

"But the doctor said…" Sasuke tried to remind him.

"Don't mind him. I'm a fast healer. I don't need to rest for five days. Just look at my face. It doesn't even look like I got punched just yesterday." he said, grinning.

"Whatever. Just get your ass off my car already." Sasuke said jokingly.

"Hehe." the blond chuckled at Sasuke's way of trying to be funny. He got out of the car and closed the door. The car zoomed off and Naruto went for his house.

Knock, knock.

The door opened in about 10 seconds revealing Nagato.

"Hey little cuz. I suppose it's just customary to have a sleepover at a friend's house without informing us first before you go there. And Sasuke Uchiha? You didn't tell me you were friends with him." the redhead said, disbelievingly.

"He invited me over and made sure I couldn't refuse and there I was and I didn't realize that it was late already and his house was far away from here so…" Naruto spewed out like a machine gun, trying to make up a believable situation as to why he stayed over at the house of someone he didn't really interact with the past month.

"Don't speak too fast. I don't want you dying air loss. You can sit on the couch first and lay down your stuff." Nagato suggested.

"Yeah, right." he agreed. "And by the way, I'm a flute player so I have lots of reserves of air."

Naruto sat on the couch. He looked around and tried to hear if there was anyone other than Nagato at home. It appeared that there wasn't.

"Hey, where are the others?"

"Shopping for grocery. I stayed here to watch over the house and wait for you to get home. You must be hungry. Anything you want to eat little cuz? Ramen perhaps."

"As tempting as that sounds, I'm not that hungry. I just ate lunch at Sasuke's so I'm still full." said Naruto. Nagato was shocked. Naruto turning down ramen? Is the end of the world coming soon?

"What did he do to you? You've never turned down ramen before." Nagato asked him, really, really curious to what would make Naruto turn down his 'life source'.

"Maybe later."

"That sounds better. And by the way, Kiba called last night." Nagato informed him.

"Really? What did he call for?" Naruto sounded excited. Nagato just smiled at his cousin's reaction.

"He asked if you came home safe because you didn't answer any of his text messages. He wanted to know if you wanted to go with him and the guys to the mall yesterday after his workout at the gym, seeing as it was Friday night."

"What did you tell him? What time did he call?"

"At around 6 PM. We didn't know where you were at that time so we told him that you haven't come home yet. He sounded really worried though. Maybe you should take a look at your cell phone."

"Ah I forgot to check it ever since I went over at Sasuke's!" he suddenly realized. He fumbled through his inbox and saw that there were 5 messages from Kiba and 11 missed calls. Though feeling guilty that he wasn't able to answer the messages and calls, as he read through the messages of Kiba, he couldn't help but feel happy that the brunet worried about him that much to call him 11 times in 4 hours and that he even called at his place to check up on him. It wasn't really his fault that he didn't answer Kiba. Phones are supposed to be turned to silent mode during class hours and since he just got out of school before getting mugged, he hadn't changed the ringer volume to maximum yet.

**Hey, you wanna go to mall with the gang? We're going after Shino and I finish our workout. Textback. 4:25 PM**

**Why aren't you answering Naruto? Are you busy? 4:50 PM**

**We'd like to pick you up at home but you're not answering my calls. Did something bad happen? If you're busy, then pardon all the text messages and the calls. 5:22 PM**

**I called you at your place and Jiraiya said you weren't home yet. So I guess we won't be going there to pick you up. Where are you anyway? Hope you're not in trouble. 6:10 PM**

**Jiraiya called and he told me you were at Sasuke's. Man, seriously? You're at Sasuke's and you're sleeping over? I can't believe it. Since when did you… nevermind. I'm going to get an answer out of you soon. 7:48 PM**

Naruto chuckled at the messages. He never thought Kiba would be so damned worried about him. He usually replies to Kiba's messages so maybe that made Kiba worry. And also, even Kiba couldn't believe that he was at Sasuke's and it was to be expected. Even at the moment Naruto couldn't fathom how that happened. Sasuke saved him from those thugs and then next thing he knew he was friends with the bastard.

'Kiba's so going to kill me on Monday.' he thought.

"What are you so amused about?" Nagato asked him.

"Nothing."

"You know, it's really weird that Jiraiya let you stay at Sasuke's. He didn't even speak to you personally and he believed that you were actually there? Seriously Naruto, why were you there?"

"Jiraiya knows Sasuke personally. He was with me during the Karate tournament so he's met him. And I've already told you why I was there alright." Naruto replied nervously. 'Please don't ask me again Nagato-niisan.' he pleaded in his thoughts.

"Oh, is that so. Okay, I won't bother you anymore about it." Nagato said as if he was satisfied but he still doubted what Naruto told him. But this time he had let it go. Naruto just sighed in relief.

A/N:

How was the chapter? Do you guys think that it was a good way for Naruto to become close to Sasuke? And why is Naruto so afraid of Sasuke before anyway and what happened to him before?

'Damn it. This is just like the last time. Why can't I fend for myself?'

Did you remember Naruto thinking that?

Well, just follow the story and I'll reveal it in the upcoming chapters, but next one will be NaruKiba. This is going to be war!

Leave a review.


	6. I Was So Close

Chapter 6

**I Was So Close**

"I can't believe it. There's just no way." Kiba ranted as he and Naruto made their way towards their Biology class. "I thought you hated that guy and then suddenly you slept over at his house and you didn't even text me or answer any of my calls. You really got me worried sick Naruto."

"Calm down Kiba. I don't really know what happened either. He just came to me while I was walking home and then offered me a ride and then I was there." Naruto tried to explain but there was just no way his cover ups would be passable for Kiba.

"So you're telling me he kidnapped you?"

"Kind of?" Naruto asked more than he answered.

"You're hiding something Naruto and it must be something big. What aren't you telling me?"

"Kiba can you just let this go for now. Everyone has their own secrets that even their best friend can't know." Kiba raised an eyebrow.

"A secret? Did you two do anything 'inappropriate'?"

"Ew Kiba no!" Naruto denied in a disgusted manner, surprised that Kiba was suggesting things like that. "We just played video games at his house and we were so caught up with it that I forgot to put my phone from silent to general that's why I couldn't answer your calls."

"That's really irresponsible you know. Jiraiya told me that it was Sasuke who called him and not you. Why didn't you call home yourself?"

"Kiba." The blond looked him in the eye. "I promise I'll tell you sometime later. But for now we have to get ready for Biology." Kiba was forced to yield.

"Ok, whatever you say."

The class started with Mr. Yamato giving a lecture on taxonomy which included the different phyla, orders, families and etc. of the different animals. It was boring since there were so many names to remember and both Kiba and Naruto decided it was not worth paying attention since they would be able to learn it by just reading the book. Kiba had nothing better to do so he thought it was best to ask Naruto again about the Sasuke issue.

"Hey, Naruto." he called him in a whisper. The blond who was busy drawing doodles turned his head towards him.

"You know, I was only bugging you so much about Sasuke because for the past month all you did was avoid him and then from out of nowhere, you're having sleepovers. We've been friends for more than a month and we never had a sleepover. I mean, it's just kind of confusing me."

"What, are you jealous Kiba?" the blond smirked at him.

"Of course not. I'm just really curious. Why do you even avoid him in the first place?"

"I don't... I don't really know. You kind of given him a bad reputation during the first week and then there was the arcade incident." Naruto reminded.

"A bad reputation?" Kiba thought about what he said to Naruto that time. Then he remembered. "You mean him picking on gays?"

"Yes." Naruto nodded, not realizing he was admitting to something indirectly.

"So that's why you avoid him? But that means…" Kiba paused for a bit, thinking twice about whether to ask his next question or not. But it was the perfect opportunity. He could ask him and it would simply look like he was just curious. "Are you gay Naruto?"

"WHAT?! OF COURSE NOT!" the blond shouted and even stood up from his chair, gaining the attention of the entire class, especially of the creepy teacher Mr. Yamato.

"Uhm, sorry." he squeaked out to his professor. Mr. Yamato gave him a disappointed look and just sighed.

"Please sit down Mr. Uzumaki. I'm not giving you a detention for this but the next time you do it, you'll serve 5 times as much. Understood?"

"Ye-yes sir." he managed to stutter out. The look Yamato gave him was so scary that he was thankful that he took a piss before their class or else there would've been a yellow puddle just below him. He took his seat and gave Kiba an icy death glare.

"I'm sorry Naruto but it was just a question. There's no need for you to overreact like that." the brunet tried to defend himself, even before Naruto could place the blame on him. The embarrassed blond just let his head fall down and his face hit the notebook on the table.

On the other hand, Kiba just succeeded in getting yet another vital piece of evidence. There was no way someone who is not gay would deny it like Naruto just did. If they are really straight, they'd just deny it, not freak out. And second, it was possible that Naruto avoided Sasuke because he feared him, which only supported his suspicions of Naruto being gay.

'But wait. If Naruto's gay, then why is he now hanging out with Sasuke? He knows what will happen if the jerk finds out. This is all so confusing right now.'

...

"So I was thinking, since you and your new friend Sasuke have already hung out last Friday and Saturday, maybe we can have our own bonding time together too. I am your best friend right?" Kiba asked him as they walked in the hallway after their Trigonomery class.

"Yeah of course. What do you suggest?"

"Shino's going to hang out with his freaky bug collectors group later so that means I won't have anyone to come with me to the gym. It's not like I'm close friends with everyone there since I'm just sixteen and most of them are beyond their teens."

"So what do you plan on doing?"

"Will you come and work out with me later after gym class?" the brunet asked.

"You're working out after we have gym class? Isn't that a bit too tiring?"

"Nah. Gym class is just dodge ball. It works more for cardiopulmonary endurance, speed, agility and coordination than it does for strength. That means that gym class is perfect as warm-up to working out." he said as if he was a fitness guru.

"But I haven't lifted weights before. I don't think I can be of any much help Kiba." the blond reasoned out.

"Don't worry I'll teach you. And besides, you're only fifteen and the instructor at the gym won't really allow you to lift anything inappropriate for your age. You do karate right? Maybe it can help give you extra strength with your kicks and punches." Kiba said encouragingly.

"If you put it that way, then I guess I can come with you. But I didn't bring any extra clothes." he told Kiba.

"As I've told you, don't worry. I have extra clothes stored in my locker there."

"Okay then. See you later at lunch. I can't be late for History class. Mr. Sarutobi doesn't tolerate tardiness." And off went the blond to his next class.

...

It was the last period before gym class and Naruto was excited. He wasn't really excited for gym class but rather working out with Kiba at the gym. But since gym class came before that, and that Kiba was also with him during that period, the more he couldn't wait. His thoughts for the whole day mainly composed of the brunet and what many things that may happen later. He even forgot that the last period in the afternoon before gym class was Literature with Mr. Hatake and that a certain raven-haired boy was taking the class with him.

On the many chances for someone to be absent, it just had to be Naruto's seatmate and Sasuke immediately took the opportunity to sit next to him.

"Hey there Naru." The blond looked at Sasuke, with a small blush. He just called him Naru. It was like a petname, and only lovers or best friends call each other by pet names.

"Hi Sasuke." Naruto said as he turned to look at him.

"How are you feeling?" the raven asked, inspecting Naruto's face.

"I'm fine Sasuke. I told you didn't I? I'm a fast healer so I'm as good as new." he happily said to his new friend.

"That's good. I was wondering if maybe we could go to the mall and maybe play at the arcade and spend some time together. So, what do you say?" Sasuke asked with hope. Suigetsu who sat behind them was giving a confused look.

'Hm. Well this is certainly new. Never thought Uchiha could speak in an excited manner and more than five words in a sentence.' the white-haired boy thought as he listened to the conversation between his friend and the blond kid.

"Oh. I would like to but I already promised Kiba I'd go with him to the gym tonight after class." Naruto explained.

The scowl that was now on Sasuke's face was apparent. How dare Kiba take Naruto away from him? He needed to act fast if he wants to get Naruto for himself, but that would not happen if Kiba beats him to it, like what he's doing now. And why the gym? What was he planning?

But he had the edge right? He knows Naruto's gay and the blond also knows he is and that he likes Naruto. And he also knows Kiba likes the blond. But Naruto doesn't know that. The only thing against him was that he knows that Naruto likes Kiba, but judging from the way his body reacted during their make-out session in the bathroom, maybe Naruto can learn to like him too. And he also saved him from those thugs who beat him up so that's a plus point for him.

"How unfortunate." Sasuke managed to get rid of the scowl on his face, because Uchihas weren't supposed to show expressions like that. "Maybe tomorrow then?"

"Yeah sure." Naruto agreed.

"I'm looking forward to it."

...

They've just finished their dodge ball, Might Guy style, which they played for about 45 minutes straight. Kiba wasn't really planning on taking a shower because he was going to work out afterwards but from the amount of sweat his body has produced, it was necessary and inevitable. So both of them hit the showers but not together because there were dividers for each shower head and there was nothing to cover you from behind as there were no doors. Pretty much all you can see from your fellow classmates were their butts, and for some, you wouldn't actually want to see them.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Kiba when he finished with showering and was in a clean set of clothes.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Naruto replied after also finishing wearing his white t-shirt with a red fire symbol on it.

"Let's go then."

They walked from the school to the fitness center. It was only about a kilometer away. In their small town of Konoha, most of the places you could go were walking distance, which was why there were also very few cars that were zooming on the streets. It was about half past four which meant they could still workout in the gym for about 2 hours, which was more than enough for their young bodies.

They entered the gym to be greeted by the owner and instructor, Akatsuchi. He was a buff middle-age man and it seemed like even an anaconda wouldn't be able to constrict him even if it tried.

"Yo, Kiba, how's it going? Ready for some killer workout today?"

"Not really. I've just had gym class so I don't think I'm up for that tonight."

The instructor nodded and then noticed the new face that Kiba brought with him.

"Who do we have here? He your friend Kiba?"

"Yeah. I brought him here because Shino can't come with me today."

"He looks fit, but he could really use some additional bulk." he said, scanning Naruto from top to bottom. "What do you do kid?"

"I do karate." Naruto replied.

"That answers it. But if you want to get stronger kicks and punches, you need larger muscles that can produce more power. Force = mass x acceleration, so that means, being fast is not the only way to gain powerful strikes. You need to build up your body mass too." the instructor explained, or more accurately, confused Naruto.

"Eh?" Naruto just stared at him wide-eye. What was it that he said? Force, mass, acceleration. What the hell are those? Is he a fitness instructor or a physics professor? The instructor noticed the blond's confusion so he apologized.

"Sorry kid. Sometimes I tend to say very complicated things but I can't help it." he said placing a hand on the back of his head.

"No it's okay sir. I'll just let Kiba explain it to me later." Naruto said so the buff guy wouldn't be offended.

"You can let me handle him pops. I think I can teach him the basics. I'll pass him on to you when he's ready." Kiba said.

"Okay. Just log in here, pay the fee and you may start." Akatsuchi handed them the log book. "And if you need help, just ask me."

"Will do."

They logged in and Naruto paid for his fee. Kiba's a member so his payment was already paid in advance. After that, they went inside the locker room to change.

"Kiba, what does that guy eat? He's freaking huge!" Naruto asked as he pulled off his shirt.

"I don't know. Maybe rabbits(1) and 6 cups of whey protein everyday?" Kiba suggested. He also took off his shirt and since he was not also wearing anything underneath, his marvelous torso was showing, specifically aimed at one viewer.

Naruto looked at the boy in front of him. Sure he had seen him naked before (his privates not included) but still he couldn't help but admire the beauty of Kiba's body. He was well-built, not too bulky like the Akatsuchi guy, but his muscles were well toned and the shape was for perfect for anatomy books and art students. He didn't notice that he was staring at his best friend for too long until Kiba broke the silence after he finished changing and Kiba handed him a tank top that he can wear.

"Like what you see?" Kiba teased.

The blond boy blushed. He was caught by his best friend staring, and he was staring at his chiseled, bare-chested body. And most of all, Kiba was a boy. He didn't really know what to do so he just tried to agree with it in a non-sexual way.

"It's really... impressive Kiba. Not most of our age already possesses that kind of figure." Whoa that was smooth.

"Yeah. Chicks will dig me if I ever go out without my shirt down the streets."

"Hehe. Yeah." Naruto let out a forced chuckle. That was not to be chuckled at. Kiba was saying he was straight, although indirectly, and it only hurts Naruto bit by bit. Kiba was stupid. He's the one who's more aware of their situation and if he keeps hinting he likes girls then Naruto might lose interest in him. Yes he also hints he's bi but his image speaks of pure manliness and it's all Naruto could notice. Why couldn't he realize that Naruto wouldn't be able to get it until he spells it out to him and tell him he likes him already? If he only knew he has a rival then he would have acted a little more differently but he doesn't know it.

"Don't worry. You already got a lean body so buffing you up a bit won't be a problem." Kiba said. 'And make you a little more delicious to look at.' he added in his thoughts.

"Yeah and it won't happen unless we get on with it and cut the chit-chat Kiba." the blond said, motioning towards the exit of the locker room.

"You should have told me you wanted to go at it already so I wouldn't have rambled about things." Kiba hurried on his way and placed his arm on his buddy's shoulder, walking towards the gym's main room.

...

They started their training with the treadmill. Even though they had dodge ball earlier, Kiba said that a little jogging would be a help if they wanted to re-warm up their body and get their systems ready for the incoming workout. They set the machine for five minutes on a medium pace. After that, they did some range of motion exercises and a little stretching to add to the mix.

Once they were done with that, Kiba got two 15 lb plates and then a bar. He set them on the inclined bench and then aligned them to the center. He lied down on the bench and gripped the bar.

"Just watch how I do it and then you're going to do it after my first set. Then we'll alternate. You'll get rest while I'm lifting and vice versa." Kiba instructed.

"Okay."

Naruto watched as Kiba lifted the bar and brought it down to just about an inch above his chest. Then Kiba pushed it back up as if it was nothing, exhaling through the process and counting out loud at the same time. His muscles were easily seen contracting. Whenever Kiba pushed the bar up, Naruto would see his chest muscles pulling his arms up, the tendon was it, was clearly outlined under the skin and his chest would bulk more as he squeezed them. The blond didn't realize it but he was again staring at Kiba for the whole set and only snapped out of it when he heard the clinging of the metal once the bar was brought down on the holder of the bench.

"Okay. Your turn now." Kiba got up from the bench and now Naruto sat on it. He was a little nervous. He's never done this before and he never really lifted anything too heavy before.

"Do you really think I can lift this Kiba?" the blond asked, so that he will feel more assured once he tries to lift it. He didn't want all that weight falling on his chest, or worse his face.

"Of course you can. That's only 30 lbs, bar included. It will be a piece of cake for you." Kiba positioned himself behind the bench, getting ready to spot for his gym buddy.

"How much do you really lift Kiba?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Hmm let's see. I think my peak for the bench press is at 140 lbs already."

"Whoah! That is like… more than four times the weight of this." Naruto was surprised. He knew Kiba has a great body and big muscles, but for someone who's sixteen, it was not that common.

"Don't worry about the weight. I'll spot for you so that if ever you get tired, you won't accidentally let it fall." Kiba placed one hand on the middle of the bar. "On the count of three, lift the bar up and then do as I did earlier. I'll help in the last parts."

"Okay. One, two, three."

With that, Naruto pushed the bar up and positioned it just above his chest. He looked up at the bar and also saw Kiba smiling at him. He inhaled and slowly let the barbell go down to his chest until it was about 2 inches above. When he felt the stretch on his chest muscles, he pushed up forward and struggled to keep the bar aligned in the middle. His arms were still shaky, not being used to lifting weights but he could certainly lift it. Just not as perfect as Kiba's.

"That's good Naruto. Just do it again until you reach ten repetitions and do your best to keep it aligned. Remember to inhale as it goes down and exhale when you push it up. And don't forget to count out loud to avoid Valsalva." he reminded.

'Okay just remember to breathe properly and count out loud.' Naruto told himself as he did the reps. Since he was looking up, it also couldn't be helped that Kiba's crotch was also in his view and his imagination started to wander off. His elbows buckled slightly and Kiba felt it.

"Hey you okay there buddy? Just 2 more reps. I'm sure you can do it." he encouraged the blond, thinking that the buckling was because Naruto was getting tired. Little did he know that it was kind of his fault that Naruto's hold was getting even shakier.

'Come on Naruto. Don't look at him. Just look straight at the bar. Keep your breathing normal.' he repeatedly told himself. 'Just two more.'

And finally, Naruto had finished his first set. He was sweating a bit and trying to normalize his breathing. It wasn't that heavy for him, just the right amount of weight and he can handle two more sets. That was if he can keep his focus.

"That was good. I really should have brought you here a month ago. Since I'm going to be teaching for this time, I'll stick to whatever weight you can lift." said Kiba. Naruto nodded.

The workout went on with them doing almost all the basics. Kiba made sure to teach Naruto at least one exercise for each muscle group. Chest, biceps, triceps, shoulders, traps, and back. The leg muscles will be for another session. Kiba's goal was for Naruto to activate all his muscle groups and then during the next time they work out again, to do the programs for specific muscle groups. And after all of those, Naruto was wasted.

"Kiba I'm tired. I don't think (breathe) I can lift (breathe) another dumbbell (breathe) anymore." Naruto exhaled his words, his shoulders slumping down and sweat dripping down his face as if it was ice cream in the middle of the desert. They were already at the locker room and beginning to take off their sweaty tank tops.

"That's okay man!" Kiba patted Naruto on his shoulder, earning him a glare from the blond and a whimper of pain.

"Itai! That hurts Kiba." The brunet chuckled, knowing exactly what Naruto was feeling at the moment.

"Hahaha. That's not even the half of it Naruto. Tomorrow, you'll be sore all over and won't be able to move without wincing."

"What?" The look of horror was on the face of the blond. If he was already in pain at that moment, then how much pain will he have to endure tomorrow?

"This is worse than karate. I've never felt this much tired in my whole life before. Well except maybe that time when Guy-sensei made us run 20 laps around the oval but that was just my legs."

"Don't worry much about it Naruto. If you join every time I train here, you won't feel sore anymore because your body will adapt to it." Kiba said.

The blond just sighed. "I wanna go home Kiba. And sleep."

"Okay. But first, we're going to take a shower." the brunet recommended.

The blond stared wide-eye at the brunet. Kiba looked back at him curiously and realized what Naruto was possibly thinking.

"Not together I mean." Kiba made clear, but was there really anything to clear up? "Or unless you want to take one with me."

'Did that just come out my mouth? Oh shit.' The brunet's mind was already panicking. He couldn't believe he just said that and his cheeks were turning as red as his tattoos, if that was possible for a guy as tan as him.

"What did you just say Kiba?" Naruto was surprised. He almost thought he heard Kiba asking him if he wanted to join him take a shower. Of course he wanted to. But how should he say it without sounding like 'HE WANTED TO'?

"Oh nothing. I said that we have to take a shower. That's it. Nothing more. Hehe." he spewed out, almost too fast for even Naruto to hear.

"Funny. I thought I heard you ask if I wanted to take a shower with you."

Kiba looked at the blond, not knowing how to respond to that. He looked at his expression and noticed that there was a smirk on that whiskered face of his. How was this possible? What was Naruto thinking? It was like he was turning the tables around them but Kiba wouldn't let that happen. He smirked back at the blond. It was time to make a bolder move. This was the chance he was waiting for.

He leaned towards the blond's ear and he could actually see the blond looking worried about his actions. He chuckled to himself.

"Yes I did say that. So, do you want to take on my offer and 'join me' in the shower?" He said in a whisper. It was sexy and seductive and it definitely implied the hidden intentions of the brunet.

Naruto could feel the warm breath of Kiba hitting his ear and neck. It sent shivers down his spine. He really wanted to say yes. But he was getting confused right now. This was Kiba, his straight best friend and what he was doing was the complete opposite. What was going on?

'What is he doing? This can't be Kiba. What if he's doing this just to find out if I'm gay or not? What if this is just an act? If I respond to him wrong and he's just playing, then I'm screwed.'

"So, what do you say Naru…?"

Then BAM! The locker room's door opened and up showed two guys who were talking and laughing about something. Naruto and Kiba immediately moved away from each other, praying to every deity that they weren't caught in that awkward position. Thankfully they weren't because those two who came in didn't give them a damn. Their names were Raijin and Fuujin(2) if Kiba could remember correctly but that was not important.

"Let's just go home. I think I'll just shower there." Naruto said to Kiba. He managed to regain his composure and was succeeding in putting away the thought of the earlier events into his 'think about later' box in that mind of his.

"Yeah, sure."

They changed into their t-shirts after wiping off the sweat from their bodies and then proceeded out of the fitness center. The walk home was awkward and neither said a word to each other until they stopped at Naruto's house. Kiba insisted that he walk Naruto home so here he was with the blond even though they already passed his dorm earlier. They went to the door and it was opened by Yahiko, who didn't seem to mind them as much as Nagato and Konan did.

"See you tomorrow Kiba." the blond said.

"See you tomorrow." Kiba said back and then walked home to his dorm.

...

"Damn I was so close!" the brunet yelled in frustration as he threw himself face first on his bed. Akamaru jumped on him, seeming to ask what his master was so angry about.

"So close to what?" Shino asked in his monotonous voice, not even sparing Kiba a glance as he was busy inspecting the new insects he just collected earlier.

"It was almost perfect. I was in control. He was nervous. Seriously, I think I was about to kiss him but those two idiots chose to go inside the locker room during that moment. GGGRRR!" He gripped on the pillow and placed it behind his head and then rolled and rolled around the bed like a five-year old. Akamaru was lucky enough to get out of the way before Kiba squished him, if that was possible.

"Oh, Naruto?" Shino asked, realizing what Kiba must have been referring to.

"Yeah."

"Don't worry about it Kiba. If it has already happened once, I think it will be easier for you to make another one of these situations."

"But when will that be? I don't want to tell Naruto that I like him just by saying it. I want it to be like what was supposed to happen earlier."

"So how did it go in the gym? Did you feel any nervous around him?"

"No. Why would I? I'm the one who invited him. And you know what? He's the one who's actually nervous. Every time he lifts the barbell in the bench press, he was trying his best not to look at me. And when he was doing the shoulder press with the dumbbells and I held on his elbows to spot on him, I literally felt him wiggle his arm in panic. Man, I'm now positively sure he likes me. I mean who could resist this face and this body?" Kiba grinned. Shino just ignored the last sentence.

"So Shino, when are you going to for your girl huh? I don't think Suzume(3) would like you to make her wait forever."

"I don't know what you are talking about Kiba."

"Oh come on Shino." Kiba sprang up to his roommate. His playful instincts showing as he poked and poked Shino on his side. The bug boy couldn't hide his annoyance from his idiot roommate and grabbed both of Kiba's hands. This got the brunet's attention and he stopped his actions.

"Shut up Kiba."

The voice came out scary. It was like Mr. Yamato possessed the guy in front of him. Kiba gulped and slowly backed away from Shino.

"Now, that's better Kiba." Shino said as he turned his attention again to his insects.

The dog-boy just stuck his tongue out at Shino and then gathered some clothes and a towel so he can take a shower all the while thinking about Naruto.

'I was so close.'

A/N:

(1) Rabbits are known for they high protein content. They have one of the leanest meats which means they contain almost no fat. For those who are building up their muscles, it is recommended to consume at least 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight. Anyway, I'm not telling you guys to eat rabbits because the body also needs fat too. If rabbit is all you eat, you will have a craving for fatty foods to compensate for it.

(2) Raijin and Fuujin are the two idiot brothers that teamed up with Mizuki in the anime.

(3) Suzume is short for Suzumebachi, the bee user they faced during the Bikōchū Beetle Arc. I know she's not that good looking and she's older but I can't think of anyone else.


	7. Yet Another Locker Room Incident

Chapter 7

**Yet Another Locker Room Incident**

The next day had become a little awkward for the two teens. Neither could forget what could have almost happened the night before. Naruto was confused about Kiba's action but secretly behind the slight fear from what the brunet did yesterday, he wanted to know what Kiba would have done next if not for those two idiots who barged their way into the locker room. And so Naruto was having hard time looking directly at Kiba because it made him nervous.

Kiba on the other hand wasn't feeling in any way like Naruto. He acted as he would every time they were together but the blond was making it difficult. He could plainly see the edgy feeling of Naruto whenever he spoke to him. He wanted to bring the topic of what happened or what almost happened in the locker room but he would always end up not doing it because he didn't know how to bring it up. He figured that it would be best if he were just to recreate another situation like that in the near future.

So what does Kiba have in mind? Shower had already been crossed out. What's another thing to do to get more intimate with each other? A date perhaps? But he hasn't even told Naruto he likes him yet. So that's a no.

"Kiba, wait for me!" the blond called out. Kiba didn't realize it but he was already ahead of Naruto for about two meters. He waited for the blond to catch up to him.

"Don't walk so fast." Naruto requested. "My body's hurting so much I can't move without feeling any pain." (1)

"Feeling sore already?" The blond nodded. "I warned you it was going to hurt. Didn't you take any pain relievers? I have some acetaminophen in my backpack if you want."Kiba offered and was about to open his bag but Naruto stopped him.

"No. I don't like taking medications. I usually heal up so fast but I guess this time it was just too much."

"Haha. You're limping like someone's fucked you hard last night." Kiba joked. Or was it to imply something else?

"Kiba!" the blond shouted and placed a hand on Kiba's mouth. "What's wrong with you? Why would you comment something like that?"

"Sheesh. It's not like anyone other than you and I heard it. There aren't many students near us." Kiba reasoned out.

"Or so you thought." From out of nowhere the two saw Sasuke behind them which gave them a little shock.

"What do you want Uchiha?" snarled Kiba.

"Now, now. That's not the right way to talk to you best friend's friend Inuzuka." the raven said challengingly. "Won't you say Naruto?"

"Uh, I guess?" Naruto partially agreed and asked at the same time.

"Whatever." Kiba rolled his eyes. He didn't know why but he really got a bad feeling about Sasuke even if the jerk was now friends with Naruto.

"Why are you giving comments like that to Naruto? It's not very appropriate. We both know Naruto is a guy and guys don't get fucked. They do the fucking." Sasuke looked at Kiba and then turned to Naruto, raising an eyebrow to him.

Naruto couldn't believe he just heard that from Sasuke and that the raven was reminding him that he knew he's gay and also making Naruto remember that Sasuke is too, even if the raven did say to Kiba that Naruto was a guy and he was the one supposed to fuck and not the other way around. Naruto knew he was a pervert but to actually say that out loud and in front of Kiba? What was he thinking?

Kiba couldn't say anything to the raven. He was just getting angrier by the moment at the words coming from Uchiha's mouth. He wanted to stop him but the Uchiha managed to speak before he could and Sasuke leaned closer to Kiba and whispered something to him.

"Do you think Naruto swings the other way or maybe… you're the one who does?"

"Fuck off Uchiha." Kiba growled and pushed Sasuke off of him. The force was strong enough to make Sasuke stumble backwards but luckily the raven was caught by someone behind him.

"Are you alright Sasuke?" Juugo, the orange-haired, somewhat bodyguard of Sasuke asked. He gave a menacing look at Kiba and the brunet would be lying if he said it didn't scare him.

"I'm fine Juugo. Nothing to worry about." Sasuke just shrugged it off. He was amused that he pissed off the brunet by his comment, once again confirming his suspicions that Kiba's not so straight.

"Are you sure?" Juugo asked again, maybe trying to find a way to beat up the brunet who pushed his friend back. Juugo was overprotective of Sasuke and would almost always stay by his side and beat up if not kill those who mess with the raven.

"Yes." The answer seemed to satisfy the huge guy and he started to calm down. And Kiba should be thankful for that. No one hurts Sasuke because if by any means Juugo learns about it, they better buy a plane ticket and get the hell out of the country or face his wrath.

"I'll see you later Naruto. Don't forget about what we talked about yesterday." Sasuke reminded. It was about going to the mall and playing in arcade that they talked about yesterday which Naruto declined since he went with Kiba.

"Uhm, Sasuke, can we just go tomorrow?" Naruto asked apologetically.

"Why?" Sasuke didn't seem to look disappointed that he'd have to wait another day but maybe only because he was good at hiding his expressions.

"It's just that my body feels really tired today. I need all the rest I can get later." the blond explained.

"I understand. See you later at Literature." And with that Sasuke turned around and walked away. Juugo gave a look that said 'I've got my eyes on you.' to Kiba which the brunet understood.

"Are you going out with Sasuke?" Of course he was not asking Naruto if he was 'going out' on a date with Sasuke. It was just going out as friends that he was thinking about because he didn't know what was going on between his blond friend and the raven bastard.

"Yes actually. He asked me to go with him to the mall yesterday but since you've already asked me to accompany you to the gym, I said I'd go with him today. But my body's still sore so I'll just go with him tomorrow." Kiba gave Naruto a studying look. He seemed to be excited about going with Sasuke that Kiba felt that he was missing something really big about them.

"I really don't understand how you became friends with that jerk. I still hate him." complained the brunet.

"Hehe. I guess Sasuke's just a little bad at socializing." the blond gave his opinion.

"Or maybe he just hates me."

"What did he whisper to you anyway?" Naruto asked innocently.

'What should I say? I can't tell him that Sasuke implied that 'I think you swing the other way and that Sasuke also thought I swing that way', which is true but there's no way I'll tell it to him.'

"It's nothing important." Kiba was hoping that Naruto would not bug him about it anymore because he didn't want to tell him.

"Really?" Naruto looked into the dog lover's expression as if he was checking if he was lying. Kiba tried his best to look natural and then RING! The first period warning bell sounded giving a perfect way for Kiba to drop the subject.

"Hey let's go. We don't want to be late for class." Kiba grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him down the hallway.

"Kiba wait! Ahh! That hurts! Ow!" The blond's shouts were heard throughout the hallway.

...

It was the day Naruto would be going out with Sasuke. Naruto went home as early as he could the day before to rest his tired and sore muscles and even took some NSAIDs(2), as Kiba had suggested to help with the pain even if he wasn't a fan of taking medications. In the morning, the soreness of his muscles were already almost gone and he could pretty much move without having to feel pain but still if he tried to lift anything heavy or he bumped into something, it hurt.

The classes went by normally and since it was a Wednesday, they had an extra class for the afternoon which was Music. Mr. Shimura has told them that starting that day, learning how to play their instruments would be a must and that he will be checking the progress of every student. He also announced that by February next year, groups of five students will have to perform any piece of music as long as it was approved by him. The groupings will be decided by drawing lots.

Music was the only class where Kiba, Naruto and Sasuke all end up together so that meant an encounter with the Uchiha bastard was inevitable for the Inuzuka. The brunet was glaring daggers at Sasuke who was coming towards them, taking a seat besides Naruto.

"Hi Sasuke." Naruto greeted him cheerfully. The Uchiha moved his lips slightly to one side, giving a barely noticeable sort of smile to Naruto because this was school and Sasuke does not smile at school. Not with this many people who can see him.

"Hey."

"So what do you want to do today after class?" asked Naruto.

"Glad you remember. Meet me at the school entrance after class." said the raven.

"Why don't we just go together after class?"

"I still have to talk with my teammates. Suigetsu and Juugo have gym class today and we're supposed to have karate practice later. I haven't told them yet because I wasn't sure if you wanted to hang out with me so I'll personally inform them I can't come."

"Wait I have a better idea. Why don't I just come with you at your karate practice?" Naruto suggested.

"Really? Are you sure? Because for about 10 times you've refused my offer before to join me in karate." the raven said with doubt from what he heard.

"Hey it's no problem now. We've already cleared things up as to why I refused so I'm eager to go. Honestly, I really want to see you fight again. You're really strong Sasuke." Naruto complimented him.

"You're not so bad yourself. Maybe we can spar later." the raven proposed.

"Hmm, why not?" the blond said excitedly. From the other side of Naruto was the brunet, trying to make out the most of what he could from Naruto and Sasuke's conversation but failed miserably.

"Hey Naruto." Kiba called to him. "Mr. Shimura is going our direction." Naruto looked up and indeed saw that Mr. Shimura was walking towards them.

"Thanks." Naruto whispered.

Mr. Shimura went to the center of the room so that everyone would be able to hear him. Therefore the conversations between the students was cut short for now because no one would want to mess with Mr. Shimura.

"Everyone please listen." their teacher called to them. All heads turned towards him and Mr. Shimura scanned the room to see if he had everyone's attention.

"I've decided to do the selections for the groupings now so everyone please write your names on a small piece of paper and then pass it. Remember that whatever instruments are placed in your group, you will have to arrange a piece for it, even if those instruments do not go with each other. I expect that you will be able to take care of that and make the best of it." Mr. Shimura announced. Everyone wrote their names and passed the pieces of paper.

There were about 4 groups that were already formed before Naruto's name was called. He was the first in the group so there were still four more to be called.

"Aria Kyoku."

"Kiba Inuzuka."

'Booyah.' Kiba cheered silently because he was going to be with Naruto. The blond looked at him with a smile and then Kiba fist-bumped with him.

"Akima Ryakuzan."

"And lastly, Sasuke Uchiha."

And then smile of Kiba turned upside down at hearing the Uchiha's name. He turned at Sasuke's direction and gave him a glare. Though it was unseen by the target because he was busy talking with Naruto, who seemed to be happy that Sasuke was also chosen to be in their group.

The calling of names went on until the last group was formed. They were told to meet at any time they want, after class if possible because they were supposed to have a quiz on the different musical symbols. Naruto finished early and seemed to take it with ease but Kiba had a hard time with it since it was his first time encountering them.

Class finished and the three of them who were seated next to each other were approached by their two other group members. They really weren't in the mood right then for a meeting and Kiba just wanted to go home so he tried his best to look bored so that they will take the hint and just do the meeting some other time.

It didn't work though as the two girls introduced themselves and told them about what instruments they play. Aria plays the violin and Akima the oboe. Naruto told them that he plays the piccolo, Kiba for the flute and Sasuke, surprisingly the piano. The two girls became excited because the mixture of their instruments didn't seem that hard to find and arrange a piece for. There's someone who will play the piano for the background, the flute and violin for the melody, and oboe and piccolo for the accompaniment. And after about 10 minutes they finally finished.

"Hey, Naruto. Since tomorrow's your birthday I want to know if you're inviting other people other than our group." Kiba asked then his eyes turned towards Sasuke's direction, which he was suspecting that the blond had already invited.

"Oh yeah I haven't told you. I've also invited Sasuke and his group over. I hope you won't mind Kiba." Naruto said almost pleading. He knew that Kiba was still adjusting to him being friends with the raven and most from his group were too.

"It's your birthday anyway so I wouldn't actually mind." Kiba said, even faking a smile to Naruto where in fact he did mind it. He had a bad feeling about the raven but he just couldn't put a finger on what it was.

"Glad to hear you're okay with it. See you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, see you." And with that Kiba was out of the classroom.

"Hey Sasuke. You ready for some action?" Suigetsu appeared from behind him and along with Juugo.

"Yes. Thanks for waiting. And I also managed to get us one more company." Sasuke said, motioning towards the blond.

"Yo Naruto wazzup? Finally decided that it's cooler to hang out with us than with dog boy huh?" Suigetsu wrapped an arm around Naruto's shoulder as if he was best friends with him for a long time.

"I guess Sasuke finally convinced me to come." replied Naruto.

"Man that's cool. I finally get to see you fight in person. My ears hurt from hearing Sasuke rambling on and on about his fight with you for a whole week last summer vacation." he said as he put a finger on his ear and rotated it, showing Naruto the effects. Naruto chuckled at both his statement and his action.

"Shut up Suigetsu." Sasuke sneered at him. "We should go. I don't want to be late."

"Okay, okay. Karin's already in the car by the way. She didn't want to wait for us here inside the building since her last class finished an hour ago." Suigetsu informed him.

"Nothing I need to know of." the raven dismissed.

"Come on Sasuke. She is your girlfriend. That's not the way a boyfriend should act you know. Because you know if you don't want her you can always give her to me. I'll take good care of her."

"Hn. Like she'd ever go for someone like you. Just shut up and walk." ordered Sasuke.

"Ok fine." Suigetsu submitted at last.

Naruto listened as the two volleyed insults against each other. They were like him and Kiba in some ways and Naruto couldn't help but smile. But he did feel sorry about Karin. Even if she does know Sasuke's just using her as a cover to get away from his fan girls, Karin sounded like she really cared about Sasuke from the stories he heard from other students. Naruto also did see the two of them during lunch and they looked like a real couple.

"Psst. Naruto." Suigetsu called him, moving closer so that Sasuke wouldn't overhear them.

"What is it Suigetsu?" the blond questioned. The two of them may not be close since it was only last Friday that Naruto became friends with Sasuke but Suigetsu seemed to not mind that fact and talked to the blond naturally. He does have Biology, Japanese and Literature with Naruto but during the last month there weren't really much interactions between them. If they were asked to be in the same group they will talk but not anything more than what was concerned with their subject.

"What are you and Sasuke now huh? Last week you never talk to each other and now I come here and he's like your friend." Suigetsu asked with a puzzled look.

"Yeah we're uh, friends now." Naruto answered but didn't elaborate anymore.

"Hmm, wonder how that happened?"

"It's a long story." Naruto replied. He really didn't want to tell that Sasuke saved him from those jerks that beat him up. And more importantly not the part where Sasuke and him made out in the comfort room.

"Suigetsu quit bothering him." Sasuke shot at Suigetsu.

"It's fine Sasuke. He's not bothering me at all." Naruto assured the raven but Sasuke glared at Suigetsu and the silver-haired teen moved away from the blond and went to Juugo and started a conversation with the huge guy.

They arrived at the front gate of the school where Sasuke's car, or rather limousine was parked. Karin was waiting inside and as soon as Sasuke opened the door, the redhead jumped on him and kissed him on the lips. Sasuke tried to get her off but Karin just hugged him tightly.

"What took you so long?" she demanded but she seemed happy Sasuke was now with her.

"We had a meeting." Sasuke replied in a bored manner.

"Well I'm just glad it's over. Just come in so we can get to your practice already." she said and then she noticed that they have extra company. "Hey is that Naruto?"

"Hi Karin." Naruto waved a hand at her. Karin on the other hand gave something of a forced smile. Naruto noticed this and he wondered if Karin didn't appreciate him coming with them.

"So he's finally managed to convince you to come?" she said as a matter of factly and it was enough to let Naruto know that Karin didn't like his company from the tone on her voice.

"I guess he did." was the only thing he could reply.

All of them jumped in the limo and immediately, Karin pulled Sasuke so they could talk about stuff that those in a relationship talk about. Karin would hug him and lean on him and sometimes kiss him on the cheek. Naruto found it amusing to watch Sasuke's reaction to every move the girl would make though it did make him wonder how Sasuke could stand it. If he was in the raven's position and a girl was holding him and kissing him, he would have already pushed her away before she even did that. Who cares if she's a girl and Naruto's a guy. There's no way Naruto would let a girl kiss him. That would be gross.

About 5 minutes later they arrived at the dojo Sasuke and his group trains at. The name 'Sharingan' was written on a marquee above the building and also a red and white fan logo which Naruto remembered to be the Uchiha crest.

'So this is owned by the Uchiha.'

It was very, very large to be a dojo, at least for just one martial art that is but as they entered, Naruto saw that not only Karate was being taught there. There were also judo, aikido, taekwondo, boxing, gymnastics, basic self-defense and many other arts taught. He even saw knife throwing and a guy practicing just threw a real knife between the eyes of the target dummy with deadly accuracy and he tried his best to remember the guy's face and told himself not to mess with the guy if he ever bumped into him in the future. He looked away and saw the huge open space of the ground floor where around 30 students were training and a sparring match was on-going.

"Wow this place is amazing!" Naruto said in awe as he saw the many students from the different disciplines training in the large space.

"See, you should have come with us when we first invited you." the raven smirked at him, happy the he was able to impress the blond.

"Man I can't wait to spar but… I almost forgot. My body's still a bit sore." he told Sasuke.

"You don't look like you're sore when we came here. I'm sure you can manage one round. It doesn't have to be a Karate spar. We can just use any style we want and anyone who gives the opponent a finishing move will earn points." the raven explained, hoping that Naruto would agree to still spar with him.

"Hey is that you Naruto?" they heard a shout from a green blur that was making their way towards them.

"Hey Lee. What are you doing here?" Naruto said as he recognized his classmate from gym class. Who wouldn't recognize that highly energetic voice, that ugly green spandex one-piece and those freaky huge eyebrows anyway?

"I should be the one asking you that question. I study Jeet Kune Do here from Guy-sensei. He also works as a part time instructor in this dojo. So are you here to train? Want to spar against me?" he challenged him and Naruto could swear he saw fire in those eyes.

"You know Lee, it's Naruto's first time here so I think it would be better if we have him adjust first you know, before you spar against him." Suigetsu placed a hand on Lee and led him away from them. Lee tried to refuse but Suigetsu managed to take him away so that he wouldn't disturb Sasuke and Naruto. When the green beast was away Suigetsu made his way back to them with a frown on his face.

"Ughh Sasuke you owe me big time for this." Suigetsu looked at his hand in disgust which was now covered in sweat, from Lee obviously.

"Thank you very much Suigetsu. I'm sure you can get one favor from me if you need it." Sasuke said, really grateful for sending away the weirdo.

"Cool."

"Now we should go and change. You can borrow one of my gis Naruto." Sasuke led Naruto to a room on the second floor which the blond guessed to be the locker room but was surprised to see that no one else was there. Actually it looked more like a lounge for rich people. Suigetsu and Juugo on the other hand didn't follow them inside.

"Surprised are you?" the raven asked.

"Yeah actually. How come your locker room is like a hotel?" Naruto asked curiously.

"You know you really shouldn't be surprised. I am an Uchiha after all. Unless you really don't know who the Uchihas are."

"Of course I know who they are. I'm just surprised you have your own locker room. I mean my dad won't give me my own locker room if I asked." he sniggered. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his statement because Naruto just said something very curious. It was the way Naruto said it. He didn't say it as a joke. It wass like he was joking though he was also serious about it.

"What do you mean by that? Can your father get you your own locker room?" he asked the blond.

"Huh? Uh, no what I mean is, it sure would be nice if you have your own locker room instead of those not so pleasing ones like that locker room in the fitness center I went to last Monday. You could smell the sweat from those huge guys there and it was just unpleasant. Hehe." Naruto once again forced a small laugh. Sasuke squinted his eyes a bit, looking at Naruto and studying him, studying his actions. Nothing escapes his eyes and he was sure that Naruto was somehow hiding something from him.

Come to think of it, Naruto didn't act like Sasuke had expected when the blond was at their house. His house was a mansion and there were many cool and interesting stuff there that common people could only dream off but Naruto didn't seem to wander around and touch things like a 5 year old. It was like he was used to them. But he lives in a crappy house with his godfather and his adopted children. It just didn't add up.

"Yes it sure is nice to have private rooms." Sasuke moved towards Naruto's direction until he was face to face with him. "It's also perfect for making out." he spoke seductively.

"Sasuke I…" The blond waist was caught by Sasuke, preventing Naruto from getting away.

"Sshh. Come on, you know you want it too."

"Sasuke please take your hands off me." Naruto requested but sounded conflicted. It was just like saying it so that he had said it but not caring much whether Sasuke obeyed him or not.

"You don't really sound convincing." the raven pointed out. "Just let me do this okay? You can push me away if you don't like it."

Naruto didn't say anything. In fact he nodded his head and Sasuke took that as a cue to lean forward and kiss the blond. And in that moment Naruto felt the excitement that he once felt when they were in the comfort room. He realized that he really did like Sasuke kissing him and so he kissed back. Naruto felt Sasuke's hand tighten his grip upon his waist and the other on his blond locks. He was shorter than Sasuke by about two inches so the raven was leaning down a bit. And like before Naruto was the first one who pulled away but only to catch his breath.

Sasuke looked at him and smiled. Naruto didn't push him away so that meant he liked it. He was getting closer and closer to making the blond his and there was no way he'd let Kiba take Naruto away from him now.

"How'd it feel?" he asked the blond.

"It was… nice." Naruto replied. He couldn't think of the right words to describe what he felt yet. The only thing he knew was that he liked whatever Sasuke was doing to him and he would want to do it again.

"See I told you." Sasuke leaned again for another kiss but this time Naruto met him halfway. He smirked to himself because he knew that Naruto did it voluntarily now and was enjoying it. When the time came for them to part their lips, it was Sasuke who first spoke.

"Be my boyfriend."

Naruto stared at him wide-eyed.

...

Knock, knock, knock!

"Coming!" a voice replied and the door was opened.

"Hi Konan." Kiba greeted her.

"Hello Kiba. Naruto's not home yet and he didn't tell us where he went." she told him knowing that only Naruto was Kiba's business at their house.

"Oh don't worry. I know where he is. He went to join Sasuke in his karate training today." Kiba informed her.

"So I guess you have another business here?" Konan tilted her head and looked at the brunet curiously.

"Actually I wanted to talk to you Konan, if you have time." the brunet requested.

"Oh sure, come on in." Kiba made his way to the living room and sat on the couch. No one seemed to be in the other rooms in the first floor.

"Are Yahiko and Nagato here?"

"Yeah they're upstairs. So what is it that you want to talk to me about?" the blue-haired girl asked him.

"Uhm, it's about Naruto. And will you promise to keep this a secret?" Kiba requested from her.

"Okay."

A/N:

Two cliffhangers. I'm guessing you can't wait to know what Naruto's answer to Sasuke will be. And also what Kiba could possibly want to talk to Konan about. The answer to Sasuke's question will be in the next chapter and for Kiba, it will be revealed in a later chapter. And I'm sure that KibaNaru fans are getting nervous because Sasuke once again made yet another move and a huge one at that and leaving Kiba very well behind. I know who I want Naruto to end up with but there's no way to know except to read the next chapters.

Leave a review.

(1) DOMS or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is the term for what Naruto is feeling. As the name says, you will only feel the soreness of the muscles maybe a day after the workout. For me I only feel it if I lift too much or if I miss working out for a week. Naruto has never lifted weights before so his muscles are not used to the workout that's why he felt sore.

(2) NSAIDs or Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs are over the counter drugs that are usually an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and an anti-pyretic.


	8. Friendzoned

Chapter 8

**Friendzoned**

"Be my boyfriend."

Naruto stared wide-eye at the raven. Did he really just say that? The blond couldn't believe it. It was just too fast. Yes that was it, too fast. Just last week Sasuke kissed him in the comfort room and told him he liked him and then last Friday he was saved by him from those thugs. Yes he became friends with him after that but it was just too fast.

"Sasuke, I don't think that's a good idea." Naruto replied.

"Why not?"

"Many reasons."

"Then tell them to me." the raven asked. Sasuke knew that might turn out this way. He knew that there would be something that Naruto will reason out, and it was most likely because of a certain someone.

"Naruto, please just tell me. And I'll do my best to change your mind."

"Alright. First is, don't you think this is moving a little too fast?"

"Actually, no. I have liked you for quite a long time." 'And if I don't act now then Kiba will have taken you away from me by then.' he added in his thoughts.

"Okay but we've just become friends, only six days actually. Seriously you don't want to be boyfriends with someone you've just known for a week. We really do not know much of each other yet Sasuke." Naruto said, hoping that Sasuke would understand his explanation as to why it wouldn't work.

"Then we'll get to know each other. Then after you deem it enough time then we'll change from friends to something more."

Sasuke looked at Naruto. From what he could see it seemed like the blond was searching for more ideas in his mind to convince him otherwise, that they shouldn't be what Sasuke wanted them to be.

"Sasuke." the blond sighed. "You… haven't come out yet."

Sasuke was surprised at what the Naruto said. In no way did he expect him to say something like that. He was more expecting to hear, 'Sorry Sasuke, but I like someone else.' as the real reason. But this, it was almost as, or even harder than the reason he was originally anticipating.

"Yes I haven't. But what does it have to do with this?" he asked demandingly.

"It has to do with everything Sasuke. If you haven't come out yet, how would I know if you're really serious about this? We can try to keep it secret but how would I know if you wouldn't just break up with me because someone found out and if you're just going to deny it when they ask? I don't want to be in a relationship like that." Naruto said.

Sasuke was even more surprised after hearing all of those from Naruto. He never would have thought that Naruto would really take a relationship that seriously that he would want assurance before taking the risk. But what shocked him more was the way Naruto had asked those questions? He couldn't guess why Naruto would have thought all of those reasons in just that short amount of time after he asked him to be his boyfriend.

"I haven't thought about that." Sasuke admitted.

"Then you should."

"It's not that easy. I can't just do it. My family won't understand. And the people at school, they'll ridicule me, say that I'm a hypocrite. So please understand." he pleaded.

"I know what you mean Sasuke. It's never really easy for us gays. I know it's a big thing to ask from you but please don't think badly of me. I didn't mean to bring that up but then again we've just been friends for a week Sasuke. Don't you think this is going to fast?" Again the blond asked that question, wanting Sasuke to just think of it as the main reason why they can't be.

"I don't know Naruto. But what I do know is that I really like you and I want us to be more than friends. Ever since that day we fought in the tournament, I can't shake the image of your golden hair, your ocean blue eyes and those whisker-like marks of yours. I was enthralled by you like no one has ever done to me before. I'd think of you every day and I can't wait for the next tournament so that I could just see you." Sasuke smiled. "On the first day of school and I saw that you were my classmate, I was so excited. I've never felt like this before. I don't know if there's something wrong with me because Uchihas don't just feel this way."

Naruto couldn't keep his eyes from the Uchiha. Here he was pouring his heart out, confessing to him what he really feels. Naruto understood him, what he felt and how hard it will be for him because of what Naruto asks. Sasuke moved backwards and let himself fall into the sofa, his arms flailed to the side.

"If we can't now, then just give me time. At least now I know that I have a chance. I just don't know if you'll still be available by the time it comes." Sasuke made a deep sigh. "You do like someone else." A blush crept to the cheeks of Naruto. Sasuke knew. Naruto didn't know what to say.

"You like him don't you? Inuzuka." the raven muttered.

"…"

"I know you like him. I've already told you before, remember?" Sasuke reminded him in a soft voice. He didn't want to bring that up but now that he had, there was no way out but to deal with it.

Naruto searched his memory and indeed Sasuke mentioned it. That day when Sasuke first kissed him.

**"You're telling me you're not gay. Well then answer me. Why do you look at Kiba like you have a crush on him? No one can fool my eyes. And you know how powerful my eyes are…"** The words echoed through Naruto's mind. So even then Sasuke already suspected it. So maybe that's why he acted this way, this fast. He was afraid that Kiba would take him before he can.

"Naruto, Kiba's straight. It would be pointless to like a person you know wouldn't like you back." Sasuke told him. "I like you Naruto and I can give you what Kiba can't."

"You… you don't know that. You don't know if he's straight or not." Naruto turned away from Sasuke's direction. "I can feel it Sasuke. I know somehow he likes me too. So don't tell me things like that so that you'd have a better chance with me." Naruto said defensively

"I'm just saying this so that you won't get hurt." Sasuke reasoned out.

"No you're not." Naruto told him as he looked at him again.

The room went silent after that. The conversation was way beyond something that could have arose. They were 11th graders, not in their mid-twenties and the way their minds thought seemed to differ from their age. Sasuke was asking him to be his boyfriend and Naruto responded like someone who wants to be in a sure and long lasting relationship. It was rational on Naruto's part. It was reasonable for someone to want to be in a lasting relationship but a fifteen year old? It was strange.

"I'm going down to the training area. Naruto please just consider what I said." Sasuke said as he stood up from the sofa and went to cabinet where his gis were stored. He took two out, tossing one pair onto the sofa besides Naruto.

"You may use that if you're still up for it." Sasuke started to remove his clothes, leaving him only in his boxers and then wore his gi. Naruto looked the other way while Sasuke undressed and distracted himself from turning to look at Sasuke by thinking about whether he still wanted to spar or not. The mood for it had kind of changed already. The blond could feel it radiating from Sasuke that he was in a worse mood than he was.

Somehow Naruto felt that he shouldn't have brought Sasuke the 'coming out' card. He knew it was really hard. Even he himself wasn't out and so he had no right to ask Sasuke about it. And then he learned that Sasuke knew about his crush on Kiba, which only supported the way Sasuke was acting. All Sasuke wanted was to be with him, and Naruto could very well admit that he enjoyed being with the raven. But he had to be sure. He didn't want a repeat of what happened before. He had the scars to remind him. That was why he was being so cautious and putting up his defenses like that. He still couldn't fully trust Sasuke, especially with the raven's past.

After his musing, Naruto finally took the gi but Sasuke was already at the door.

"I'll be going down. I hope you'll come down too, unless you're too chicken to fight me, dobe." Sasuke said challengingly.

"Don't call me that, temē." Naruto growled.

"Hn." Sasuke just let out a chuckle and Naruto caught it. He smiled to himself as he realized that Sasuke was still in the mood to fight, contrary to what he thought. And this in turn lightened his mood up and he changed his clothes hurriedly so he could catch up to his friend.

...

"Are you sure he will like it?"

"Yeah I'm sure but… how are you going to get him one of those? And why give him something like that? He's turning sixteen not seven and you're his best friend, not his boyfriend."

"Well, I want to be." Kiba admitted.

"Hah! I knew it. Yahiko owes me 5 bucks." Konan said in victory.

"How did you?" Kiba was surprised.

"Come on, it's so obvious by the way you look at and act around him. I'm more surprised that Naruto hasn't taken the clue yet."

"I have been giving him hints but he's just not taking them." Kiba mentioned.

"He thinks you're straight so that's why he couldn't get it through that thick skull of his." Konan pointed it out to him.

"So, is Naruto really, you know… gay?" Kiba asked, saying the last word in a whisper, embarrassed that he was asking this kind of question to his crush's somewhat big sister.

"I'm not in the position to say that but I think you already know the answer to it."

"Yeah but I just wanted to make sure."

"And now you are. And that's a really good idea for a gift. I think Naruto will really love it." 'Though I'm not sure if Jiraiya would be happy about it.' she added in her thoughts.

"I know he will." Kiba said confidently.

"So are you going to ask him out, now that you're sure about his 'preferences'?" Konan asked, barely able to control her giggles now that her yaoi fan girl side was starting to show up.

"Maybe. But I still don't know when and how." Kiba replied honestly.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Kids these days." Konan muttered as she shook her head.

"Hey you're only older than us by a year so you can't really say something like that. But anyway, thank you so much Konan. I have to go. I can't risk Naruto seeing me here. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah see you tomorrow."

...

Naruto went down immediately after he changed into Sasuke's gi. He was surprised to find Suigetsu standing in front of the door. The silver-haired boy told him that Sasuke asked him to accompany him down so that he wouldn't get lost.

"So what took you guys so long huh?" Suigetsu asked.

"Oh nothing. I just uhm… crashed on the sofa because it looked so comfy." Naruto chuckled at his made up excuse.

"Hmm. Curious. Anyway, let's hurry. Sasuke's sparring with Neji Hyūga as we speak and I don't want to miss it."

"Hyūga? Like a relative of Hinata?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Yes, he's her cousin. He's older than us by a year and he's the best student here in the Gentle Fist style. Every Wednesdays the dojo allows everyone from every discipline to spar against each other. It's for us to not be "in the box" as they say. In real life you wouldn't face off with someone who practices the same discipline as you do so they're doing this to expose every student in the different arts, so they will be able to expect the unexpected, if you know what I mean."

"I never thought about that before."

"That's why the students here have the better edge when it comes to fighting."

As they walked, they saw that Sasuke has already begun his sparring match with Neji. They were fighting but since they practice different arts, the rules have been altered. First one to land 5 clean hits to the opponent wins. Therefore it was not surprising for Naruto to see both of them giving their all. He had seen Sasuke fight before and he even fought him himself, but seeing him now, he understood why he lost when they fought. He was awesome.

Neji would throw his attacks to Sasuke in a very wide area, his punches coming from almost every angle that even Naruto couldn't predict nor follow his movements but Sasuke was blocking or dodging almost everyone of it, with some only grazing him. He was truly a prodigy in the fighting arts. Naruto thought that if he fought against Neji, it would take all of his skills just so he could try to even it out with him. And if Sasuke was better than Neji, that meant he was also way better than Naruto.

The fight continued on and Sasuke landed five clean hits before his opponent, who landed four but it was seen that it took a lot of effort on Neji to be able to do that.

"You may have won this round Uchiha but it was a close call. One day, I will beat you. It's what my fate is telling me." Neji said to the raven as he exited the sparring mat.

"Hn." Sasuke wouldn't say it to the Hyūga but he enjoyed his fights with him. He just like to act cool even though in truth, sparring with him was one of the most difficult ones and what he looked forward to, apart from fighting against Naruto.

Sasuke noticed that Naruto had already arrived and he went for him but saw that Neji stopped in front of the blond.

"I haven't seen you before. What's your name?" he asked the blond.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke invited me here to spar with him." Naruto replied.

"Hmm. Naruto you say? I think I've heard my cousin mention that name before."

"Oh yeah. I'm friends with Hinata."

"Well that clears things up. By the way, if you're going to spar with Uchiha then you must be a great fighter yourself. I think I'd like to stay and watch." the Gentle Fist user said in a tone that said 'Impress me'.

"Honestly, I don't know if I could actually win against Sasuke. This was the first time I saw him fight like that. You almost won against him so that means you're really strong too."

"I will take that as a compliment."

"Hyūga." They heard Sasuke call from beside them. "I think you ought to continue your conversation with Naruto later. I have been waiting two months for this spar and I certainly don't want to wait any longer."

"Go on then Uchiha." With that Neji took off and sat on the sidelines where other students were also watching.

"Well if it isn't Naruto Uzumaki." a man who appeared to be the one managing the matches confronted them. "So Sasuke brought you here huh? You may not be a registered student here yet but it would be great to have you fight against him now as a guest. I'm sure the other students will enjoy this."

"Uhm, thank you." Naruto said to the sensei who he now remembered to be the one who managed Sasuke's team during the tournament.

"I'm Obito Uchiha by the way." the man held out his hand to Naruto, which the blond took and shook hands with him. "Now let's not delay this match any longer."

Both of them took their stances and bowed to each other. Obito signaled for the match to start and Naruto was the first one to take the offensive. He moved carefully towards Sasuke, making sure to keep his eyes on his opponent's limbs so that he can block them if the raven attacks. When he deemed it close enough to launch a punch, he first did a faint with his right hand and then did a front kick with his left foot but not so surprisingly, Sasuke didn't seem to be tricked by the faint and easily dodged the kick. Naruto tried to regain his stance as soon as his front kicked missed, and luckily just in time because Sasuke also tried to give a punch but Naruto swerved to his right, aiming for a counter punch but it was foiled because Sasuke blocked it with his left arm.

'His reaction time is so fast. Even if I do fakes he can see through it.' Naruto thought. 'I have to keep throwing attacks at him and keep him on the defensive. Hopefully he won't be able to catch up.' Naruto thought and he executed his plan.

He charged towards Sasuke and threw random punches and kicks at him, from different angles as fast as he could. He thought that if his attacks were more unpredictable then the harder it would be for Sasuke to follow him and he would be able to land a clean hit. He mixed his attacks with faints, always changing his stance and trying his best not to give Sasuke a chance to land a counterattack on him.

And after about 20 seconds of him giving attacks and Sasuke successfully defending from them, he landed a clean hit on Sasuke's chest, pushing the raven backwards but he was still standing.

"Naruto 1 point!" announced Obito. The audience clapped at the performance and many cheered for Naruto. It wasn't every day that people land punches on the Uchiha. They both took their stances again and Obito signaled for them to resume. But this time Sasuke went for the offensive. He wasn't as fast as Naruto so the blond was able to block his attacks but the problem was that Sasuke could see exactly how the blond would block an attack that he would give so in just a blink of an eye, he manages to change their direction. Naruto was still able to defend from them but only barely. And with that technique he landed a clean hit on Naruto's stomach. The blond grunted a bit from the pain but stood his stance to show that he wasn't affected from it. The raven actually saw him smirk and so the raven did the same.

They really were enjoying their fight. Sasuke had longed for it for two months and now that he was fighting against him, it really made him even more excited. The fight with Neji was also intense but he's faced off with him for about 5 times already and this was only the second time with Naruto. And of course, it's not like he liked the brunet anyway.

The fight continued on, both of them giving their all but Sasuke won the match with a score of 5 to 3. They bowed to each other and exited the ring. Obito went towards Naruto to congratulate him.

"That was truly amazing. It seems like only Neji, Lee and you can keep up with him." he complimented Naruto.

"I'm sure Sasuke was just holding back." Naruto chuckled.

"I don't really think so. This is the second time I watched you fight against each other and to tell you the truth I was kind of getting fidgety in my seat when I watched your match in the last tournament. You're really good. Anyway, you really remind me of a fighter back in the days. You definitely look a lot like him too and you're moves are very similar. I know that you're Jiraiya's student but did you also happen to study under Minato Namikaze by any chance?" Obito asked him.

"Huh? Oh, well uhm, he's my idol. I watched his fight clips many times and so maybe that's why many of my moves are like his. Hehe." Naruto said nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

"Curious really. I could almost say you're a younger version of him. He was a great fighter in his era. He was the only one who was able to beat Fugaku Uchiha during their time. It might sound weird for an Uchiha to idolize him but he was truly a champion when it came to Karate. So enough with my rambling. I think Sasuke's waiting for you already." he said turning his head to Sasuke. The blond started to go towards Sasuke but Obito called him.

"Oh and Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Consider joining our dojo. You are very welcome here." Obito invited him.

"I'll think about it." Naruto replied and continued to jog towards Sasuke who sat on a chair in the sidelines. The next fight was from a student of Taekwondo against a student of Karate. But Sasuke didn't seem to be interested in watching them.

"Sasuke, you really are too strong. I admit my defeat."

"The fight was close. I could say the same for you. The only people here who can fight in the same level as you, like Obito said are Neji and Lee. And with Lee I really have to give it my all." he admitted.

"Bushy Brow? Is he really that good too?"

"Yes he is. To tell you the truth, he's the one I have the hardest time in fighting against. Neji is the second and you would rank at third. But that's only because they practice different arts."

"Then that actually makes you more amazing Sasuke. We both practice Karate so that's why I could keep up with you but when I watched Neji, it was like impossible to dodge his attacks. They were coming from everywhere and unpredictable. How do you do that Sasuke? It really makes me wonder ever since we first fought. How were you able to anticipate almost every move I make?"

"It's a secret."

"Oh come on you have to teach me. You are really awesome you know that." Naruto sweet talked him, hoping it would work and the Uchiha will teach it to him.

"I can't teach it to you. It's just that I was kind of born with a high degree of perception. If you ask me, the only way to beat me is if you can move faster, like Lee. That way even if I can see through your moves, it will be difficult for me to evade them." the raven told him.

"Are you sure you should be telling me this? You are telling me your weakness Sasuke." Naruto pointed out.

"I think it will only make things more interesting. It means that I too will have to train harder so that you still wouldn't be able to beat me."

"So I just have to be as fast as Minato Namikaze and then I'll surely beat you."

"I'd like to see you try, dobe." Sasuke said teasingly.

"Don't call me that temē." Naruto grumbled.

"Well you're just so cute when you get annoyed."

"Don't call me cute. I'm a guy and it feels weird."

"Hm? Would you prefer if I said you're hot?" the raven said seductively in a husky voice.

"Sasuke stop that." the blond said but he still sported a blush on his cheeks.

"Alright, alright. And come to think of it, you do have a lot of moves that Minato Namikaze uses. Are you like a fan of his?" Sasuke asked innocently.

"Uhm, kind of… yeah. Hehe." again came out the nervous reply from the blond.

"So what do we do now that we've sparred already?" asked Sasuke. "You said you were still a little sore."

"Nah. At least not anymore. I guess the match took care of that. I'm like 100% good as new."

"Let's go upstairs."

"Okay."

They entered the Uchiha's private room and rested for a bit. Sasuke took a shower first, and like Kiba, he tried asking Naruto to take it with him but failed. Naruto took one after him and after 15 more minutes, they were already changed into casual clothes and ready to leave the establishment.

"Naruto I was thinking about it and you're right." Sasuke said to him.

"Right?" the blond asked, not seeming to get what Sasuke was talking about.

"About me going too fast. And I'm really not ready yet for… you know." Naruto understood what Sasuke was referring to. Coming out is really hard, especially for Sasuke whose family has so much expectations from him.

"That's okay Sasuke." Naruto assured him.

"So no awkwardness between us?"

"None."

"Still friends?"

"Yeah."

"May I still kiss you?"

"Yup. Wait, huh?" the blond said after realizing that he kind of just gave Sasuke permission to kiss him.

"You said yup." And with that Sasuke gave him a light kiss on his lips. Naruto blushed but didn't do anything to push Sasuke off.

"Hey that wasn't fair. You tricked me into saying yes." Naruto complained and put a scowl on his face.

"Oh come on, you still liked it." Naruto just rolled his eyes at the comment.

"You want to go out and eat something?" Sasuke offered.

"Can we have ramen?" The blond's eyes shone with excitement.

"You can get one but I'm not eating that."

"Why not? It's like the best food in the world."

"I don't think I can agree with you on that."

"Where do you want to eat?"

"Let's go to the mall."

"M'kay."

...

They went to the mall riding in Sasuke's car. The raven only texted Suigetsu that he and Naruto would be leaving already so that he wouldn't have to bother being spotted by Karin. They arrived at around half-past six so they still have about one and a half hour before Naruto has to go home. Naruto texted Konan that he was out with Sasuke and wouldn't be home for until around 8 PM.

When they reached the mall, Sasuke led them to a place called Ichiraku, which was best known for its special ramen but now has added other dishes to their menu. Naruto ordered Pork Miso Ramen with special menma(1) while Sasuke ordered Katsudon(2). The raven didn't really like the particular dish but since he had eaten it before because it was one of Karin's favorites, he opted for it because he didn't want to eat ramen.

"So, tomorrow's your birthday right?" Sasuke started their conversation.

"You remembered." Naruto said in surprise and was happy that Sasuke didn't forget.

"Do you have anything in mind that you want me to get you?"

"You really shouldn't bother Sasuke but if you want to give me something then I want it to be a surprise. You should think of it by yourself."

"Okay. I just need some help here. Maybe a little tip."

"Hm let's see." Naruto closed his eyes and put a hand on his chin, trying to look like he was really thinking hard about it. "So the hobbies that I like the most are music and video games. That's all I could think about so that's all I'm giving you."

"Thanks. I'm sure I can think of something that you will like. Anyway, what are we going to do tomorrow at your house anyway?"

"Nothing much. Just some outdoor barbeque and drinks I think. It's a small celebration really, not something that your family would throw."

"You wouldn't know how Uchihas throw parties. They're pretty boring. I wish I could just have a small gathering during my birthdays but they had to invite boring people from different companies and business partners too."

"Wow that does suck."

Their food were served about 5 minutes later and they talked more about themselves as they ate. It was sort of like a date, but not an official one. It was more like the ones that Naruto and Kiba would go to when they felt like going to the mall together. Naruto had fun, he couldn't deny it. There was just something about Sasuke that made him feel as much excited as when he was with Kiba. Kiba was funny and Sasuke was really straight forward and Naruto kind of found it funny too. And not to mention that he got to make out with him at random places at random times.

After their dinner they went to the arcade to play some Tekken 6. Sasuke made sure not to play too good so that he wouldn't rile up the blond. In the end Sasuke still won but it was a close call and Naruto seemed to be happy about that. When it was 7:40, they decided that they should go home and Sasuke gave Naruto a ride home.

"See you tomorrow Sasuke." Naruto said to him as he started to get out of the car.

"Yeah see you tomorrow. And advanced happy birthday!" the raven greeted him.

"Thanks." Naruto once again tried to get out of the car but the raven pulled his hand and as he turned his head, his lips were met with Sasuke's.

"It's a goodnight kiss." the raven told him.

Naruto blushed but didn't say a word about what just happened. So he continued his way towards the front door. Sasuke's car zoomed out and Naruto knocked on the door, which was opened by Konan.

"Okaerinasai Naruto." she welcomed him.

"Tadaima Konan-neesan."

"So how was your date with Sasuke?" Konan asked innocently.

"It was NOT a date. We're just friends you know." Naruto denied, though if they weren't being technical, it was sort of a date.

"Ooh, getting defensive are we? Are you sure you're just friends?" Konan gave a questioning look to Naruto. "But what about Kiba? I thought he's the one you like."

"I… Sasuke's just… ugh, just drop it Konan-neesan." the blond pleaded.

"Hai, hai. Anyway, I just want to tell you. You'll be in for a very awesome surprise tomorrow."

"What surprise?" Naruto asked curiously.

"It's not a surprise anymore if I told you, baka."

"Hey don't call me that."

"Ok. Just get inside already. You better sleep early since it's your birthday tomorrow."

"Hai."

A/N:

(1) Menma – young bamboo shoots that is placed in ramen as a condiment. It was seen in the first Naruto anime, where he named the guy who had temporary amnesia Menma.

(2) Katsudon – Fried pork cutlet bowl. Basically pork on top of rice with other condiments. In Shippuden 220, Karin told Ibiki that she wouldn't talk unless they brought her Katsudon so she must like it very much.

Okaerinasai/Okaeri – said to someone who came home. Welcome home. Kaeru means to return/return home.

Tadaima – I'm home. As an adverb translates as 'just now'.

Hai - yes

Baka – stupid, idiot


	9. Why A Gift So Special?

Chapter 9

**Why A Gift So Special?**

It was the day of Naruto's birthday and Jiraiya, a good godfather he was, had prepared for him a small celebration. Well not really small because there were so many guests who arrived much to their surprise with Naruto's friends on top of the list but two of Nagato's classmates have also been invited. A few of Jiraiya's friends also came and thankfully the food they prepared was more than enough thanks to Konan's foresight about things like that which she believed are likely to happen.

The party was held at the back garden of their house. Unseen to many people, the place they stayed was quite big if you look at it from an angle other than the front. There was a grill for barbeque and burgers and then dumplings, roasted chicken, spaghetti and pizza were served in a buffet style along with an unspiked punch. Naruto just turned 16 after all, not 21.

The first who arrived were Naruto's friends, at around 6 PM which was the time the blond told that the gathering will start. Each of them greeted him and actually bought a gift for him. Hinata came first and to Naruto's surprise, Neji was with her. He didn't know but Neji was sort of her bodyguard whenever she went to such gatherings. Hinata gave him an orange baseball cap which Naruto eagerly received since it was his favorite color. Shino, Chouji and Shikamaru thought it was best if their gift would be combined, to save trouble of having to buy three at the suggestion of the lazy genius. They bought for him the first 3 volumes of a certain manga story that they know Naruto would love. They guessed that buying Naruto a book would be futile because they know that he wouldn't be able to read if there aren't any pictures so manga was the best option.

Ino bought him a yin-yang necklace, saying that he should wear one half and the other half was to be worn by his partner if he ever gets one. Kiba greeted him a 'Happy birthday' last but he said his gift hasn't arrived yet. Naruto teased him about forgetting his birthday and thus forgetting to get him a gift. Kiba insisted that Naruto just waited for it because it was very cool. Naruto pestered him on telling what it was but the brunet's lips were sealed shut.

When his friends were done with greeting him, Konan decided it was time for her to greet her sort of cousin and give him her gift. It was a cookbook that focused on noodles. Naruto's mouth watered at the sight of the pictures it contained and he asked Konan if she could help him cook the recipes written in the book some other time. The blue-haired girl happily agreed.

Nagato and Yahiko came next and also decided on a conjoined birthday present. They couldn't think of anything useful to buy for him but Yahiko remembered Naruto going with Kiba to the gym once. So they bought for him a pair of gloves that he could use if he ever decides to train again with Kiba, or it was more of an encouragement to ensure he goes again with Kiba.

Jiraiya went next and hugged his favorite godson, well his only godson and greeted him a 'Happy birthday' while tussling his hair and making comments about being grown up. And so the next thing Naruto knew was that he was holding one of Jiraiya's perverted novels and him blushing from embarrassment when Konan, Nagato and Yahiko all laughed. The book then became well acquainted with its author's face soon enough.

At some point, the two friends invited by Nagato arrived. Nagato introduced them to Naruto and they all greeted him a 'Happy birthday'. One was named Deidara and he had a very long blond hair which was tied up in a ponytail, his bangs covering one side of his face. It was quite similar to Ino's hairstyle although this one was a guy and his hair was a more vibrant shade of blond. The other was Sasori, a redhead whose face looked so smooth and young as if he never had a blackhead in his whole life.

And unexpectedly, Naruto saw his Literature teacher also making an appearance and with him was the Karate instructor from the Uchiha dojo, Obito Uchiha and a girl he could only assume to be Obito's girlfriend.

"Yo Naruto. Happy birthday." Kakashi greeted him.

"Mr. Hatake, what are you doing here?" the blond asked surprised. It's not that he didn't want him to be there but he was just curious as to who invited him.

"I happen to be a great fan of Jiraiya's work so he invited me." his teacher replied.

"Oh."

"Hey there Naruto, happy birthday." Obito greeted him. The girl with them also greeted him and introduced herself. Her name was Rin and indeed she was Obito's girlfriend.

"Obito-sensei, you know Mr. Hatake?" Obito smiled when he heard Naruto call him sensei. He didn't even teach him but the kid was just polite.

"Yeah. We trained in Karate together under Minato Namikaze, which I was only able to find out that he is in fact your father when Kakashi here told me. Why didn't you tell me when you were at the dojo?"

"Well, you gotta love surprises." Naruto shrugged.

...

"Guess who?" Naruto felt a hand covering his eyes from behind and immediately recognized the owner of the voice he heard.

"Kurama-niisan you came." His brother took away his hand and as Naruto turned around, gave him a deathly hug. His brother had wild red hair, similar to Naruto's style but longer especially with the sideburns. He had the same blue eyes but with a different shape from Naruto's.

"Happy birthday little bro." he greeted.

"Thanks. But it's a school day tomorrow, and it's a 2 hour drive from uni to here so how did you…" Naruto asked but he was cut off by his brother.

"Anything for my little brother's birthday. I can always ditch a few morning lectures so I could spend time with you on your special day."

"You're the best big brother, Kurama-niisan. So did you get anything for me?" Naruto asked in an excited tone.

"Here." Kurama handed him his gift. It was an orange IPod containing Naruto's favorite songs.

"Thank you niisan." he said, receiving his gift.

"I'll go around and talk with Nagato and his gang. And maybe go get something to eat. You can join up with your friends." Kurama said. Naruto nodded and went to find Kiba.

...

It was around quarter to seven and almost all of the guests have arrived. Naruto was still waiting for a certain raven but his waiting was put to a finish when he heard yet another very familiar voice from behind.

"Naruto." He turned around and saw Sasuke, with his arm wrapped by Karin's.

"Hey Sasuke you made it." he greeted him with a smile. "Hi Karin. Where are Suigetsu and Juugo?"

"We're right here." Suigetsu answered, raising up one hand as he moved towards them, Juugo following along. "Happy birthday buddy."

"Happy birthday Naruto." he also heard Juugo say which really was unexpected from the huge and silent guy.

"Thanks." the blond replied.

"Happy birthday Naruto." Karin also greeted him and held out a gift, a small package in wrapping paper. The blond happily received Karin's gift to him. He saw Sasuke whisper something to Karin and then the redhead and the other two guys walked away and went outside to where the food and most of the guests were. Now it was only him and Sasuke.

"Do you really have to send them away?" Naruto questioned.

"I just want us to be alone, but anyway, happy birthday." Sasuke greeted him too. The raven held up his own gift for the blond which unlike the others, wasn't wrapped. Naruto took the gifts, there were two of them, and looked at it.

"Tekken Tag Tournament 2. This is so cool. I'll practice so hard I'm gonna beat you one day Sasuke." He shuffled the DVD under to find a music album, his eyes widening with surprise.

"How did you know I like this music?" It was the album 'An Airplane Carried Me to Bed' by Sky Sailing. He never mentioned to Sasuke that he listened to it so he was really curious how the raven knew.

"I heard you softly singing one of their songs. You do sing it quite a few times, though even you must not notice it. I just typed a few of the lyrics I remembered hearing from you and I easily found the album."

"Thanks Sasuke. They're really wonderful birthday presents."

"So, do I get a kiss for this?" Sasuke asked playfully.

"No. You're really a pervert Sasuke, have I told you that?"

"Only about a dozen times." the raven smirked.

"Let's go outside. We have barbeque, pizza and spaghetti." Naruto suggested.

"Thank heavens you didn't serve ramen." the raven sighed in relief.

"I wish but Jiraiya thought it was not appropriate for the occasion." Naruto said sadly.

"You know he's right. I think I'll have some spaghetti."

"Tomato addict." Naruto teased him.

"Hn."

As they made their way towards the back of the house where the party was held, Sasuke immediately recognized one of the guests and it surprised him.

"Wait, that's Kurama Namikaze, right?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah you know him?"

"Who does Karate and doesn't know him? I watched him fight with my brother Itachi before and he managed to draw the match with him. Itachi said he'd never fought an opponent as strong as him before."

"I watched that match too. It was the most intense one I've seen."

"Hold on. When I fought you, you have a lot of Minato Namikaze's moves and now his son Kurama is here. What is your real relationship with them anyway? You're not just a fan are you?" Sasuke asked him with a studying look.

"I thought I could hide it from you a little longer but hey, it took you a lot of time to figure it out yourself. Minato is my father and Kurama's my older brother." he admitted.

"What? But your last name is Uzumaki." The raven was puzzled. Never did he think that Naruto was actually related to Minato and Kurama Namikaze.

"It's from my mother."

"So why are you not taking your father's name?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"I have my personal reasons, not that you need to know about it." the blond firmly stated.

"Sasuke Uchiha. It's quite a surprise seeing you here. You do look quite a lot like Itachi if I might say." the redhead who just noticed the two of them talking said as he made his way towards the two teens. "I'm Kurama Namikaze, Naruto's brother but I'm sure you must have known that already."

"Actually I've learned about it just now." the raven admitted, but also surprised that Kurama knew his name.

"Really huh? I suppose you don't talk a lot with your brother Itachi then, if you didn't know that I'm Naruto's brother."

"Are you two close or something?" the raven asked, referring to Itachi.

"Not really. I have a class with that weasel in uni but he doesn't talk much. I tried to have him **_go out_** with me but he's always studying and brooding in one corner. Quite a boring guy, no offense."

"None taken. It's true anyway." Sasuke agreed, failing to notice the words '_go out with me_' that Kurama said.

"So I'll leave you two to talk then. I have some other things to do." And Kurama left the two teens.

...

Kiba was walking back towards the garden when he felt a hand tap on his shoulder, He turned around to see who it was and saw that it was Naruto's older brother which he learned about when Naruto told him just a few minutes ago. And there must be some sort of a pattern occurring here, people showing up from behind people all the time.

"Kiba Inuzuka?" Kurama called his name, checking if he was correct. Kiba nodded, feeling kind of uneasy now that he was talking to his best friend's big brother. Unlike Naruto, he had the perfect beach body, his muscles bulging on his shirt and Kiba could easily see that. Kiba knew that one punch from him will be able to send him to the hospital, or worse, the morgue.

"I'm Kurama Namikaze, Naruto's older brother but I'm sure he must have told you that already."

"It's nice to meet you sir, I'm Kiba." Kiba replied, not knowing how he should address him. Kurama gave a deep chuckle from hearing Kiba call him sir. Seriously, it was like the guy was going to piss his pants from how nervous he looked.

"Give me some slack kid, I'm still 19, only older than Naruto by 3 years and definitely not that old to be called sir. You may call me Kurama. But anyway can you come with me inside? I want to talk with you." he told him.

"Okay." Kiba agreed and then they made their way towards the kitchen, which was nearest to the door to the garden.

"So I heard from Naruto that you're his best friend. Is that correct?" came the first question, probably the start of a long interrogation list.

"Yeah. We met during the first day of school and instantly became friends." Kiba replied, this time becoming a little calmer.

"I see. So the others here, how did they become his friends?"

"They're actually my friends from middle school so when I invited Naruto to join our group, they became his friend too."

"Okay. So you may be wondering why I'm interrogating you like a father does to a guy whose about to take her daughter on a date but Naruto's my baby brother so I'm just looking out for him. I want to know what kind of people he goes with. And you know, I've just confirmed something tonight. You want to know?" Kurama asked with a smirk on his face.

Kiba didn't really know what he should answer, but since this was his best friend's brother and he looked really scary right now, he just nodded.

"I've just confirmed that you like my brother." Kurama stated. Kiba couldn't believe he actually heard that. What was he supposed to say? Should he deny it or just admit it? What if Naruto's brother was a homophobe?

"Of course I like him, he's my friend." he innocently replied.

"Don't play with me smartass. I know that you're gay or at least bi. You could say that I have a gift on reading people. You're actions towards Naruto tonight and the way you look at him, though you're trying to make it subtle can't easily escape my eyes, especially when I'm focused on spotting them." Kurama pointed out to him.

"…"

"Don't know what to say? Well I must admit that I had Konan tell me a lot of things about you. Don't blame her though because they can't keep secrets from me." Kurama stated. Kiba knew that he had no choice but to admit the truth.

"You're right. I do like your brother more than as a friend."

"So you admit it huh? Anyway don't get scared of me. It's not like I'm against it or anything. I myself like both girls and guys so we're kind of on the same boat here. I'm just here to give you a tip, and a warning. Do you want to hear them?"

A tip? A warning? What could they be about? Kiba needed to know.

"Okay."

"You may have been thinking about this but let me just say that Naruto feels the same way about you as you do to him. He's my brother and I can read him like an open book in large print. And I'm also the one he confides to the most so that means I'm actually going to be disclosing his secret." Kiba nodded to what Kurama was telling him. His heart did a back flip at hearing this confirmation which came from Naruto's brother directly and what's more, he actually approves of him.

"But why would you tell me this?"

"I am just doing the two of you a favor. And for myself actually." the redhead sighed.

"For yourself?" Kiba questioned.

"I may be his big brother but I do have my limits from hearing about his ramblings about you. He may not say to me that he likes you directly but I can take a hint. So do me a favor and ask him out already or something because if you think he's going to be the one to initiate a move, then you'll end up with a beard hitting the ground."

"And also, I want you to make yourself wary of Sasuke Uchiha. I've noticed that he looks at my brother in a very similar way that you do, although his a little bit different. I don't know about his relationship with my brother other than being his friend but I have this bad feeling about him. I never really liked the attitude of his brother Itachi so maybe that's why I don't like him too. This is sort of a request so please watch over Naruto for me."

"You can count on me Kurama." The redhead smirked at hearing this. Kiba was actually starting to feel comfortable around him, even calling him by his name. 'Maybe we could change that a bit.'

"And for my warning, if you ever did become more than friends with my brother, and then you do anything that hurts him badly and it gets to my ears, never again show your face in front of him ever again. Or else you'll end up drooling in a coma. You get this?" Kurama's voice dripped with malice, his eyes giving a red tint. He was dead serious.

Kiba gulped, sweat dripping from his forehead. It took all he had to let out a 'Yes' to let Kurama know that he did understood what he just said, or what he promised to do.

"Besides, I am known as the Nine Tails Kurama (1) for a reason." Kurama moved closer to Kiba and looked at him eye to eye and after a few seconds, gave a loud laugh. He patted his right hand on Kiba's left shoulder, the brunet feeling its weight on him. Kurama was a really huge guy.

"Hey don't get scared Kiba. Just stay on my good side and I'm sure we'll become good friends. Just call me if you need help with my baby brother." And with that Kurama left Kiba and went outside to join the others again. Kiba was left standing in the kitchen with his head bowing down. His whole body was trembling with fear. Kurama seemed like a nice guy, with all those tips and approval but when it came to serious business, it was as if an evil aura emanated from him.

It took about two minutes before Kiba was even able to move again. Once fully recovered, he opened the back door and looked for Naruto, who was also doing the same thing and when the blond spotted him first, he ran up to him.

"Kiba where were you? I've been searching all around and I couldn't find you." Naruto said with worry.

"I just went inside to take a leak." Kiba replied, not wanting to tell Naruto about his encounter with Kurama.

"Oh. Okay then."

Beep beep.

"That's mine." Kiba said. He picked up his cellphone and found a text message. It was from his sister Hana.

▼**I'm already at the front of the house. Come fetch your gift now.▼**

"Naruto I have to go to the front." Kiba said in a hurry and started to jog towards the front of the house, using the small path beside it.

"Yeah but what are you…"

"I just have to get something. I'll be real quick. You don't have to come with me." Kiba shouted because he was already quite far from Naruto.

"Okay." the blond shouted back. 'I wonder what he's supposed to get.'

Kiba found his sister Hana waiting by her car which was parked at the opposite side of the street of Naruto's house. He saw that she had indeed brought his gift for Naruto.

"What has gotten into your head for you to think that this will make a good birthday present? And you just told me this yesterday. Do you even know how much this costs?"

"I know sis but we own it and it's not like were poor or anything." Kiba tried to reason out.

"This girl must be so important to you that you would give her such a gift."

"Uhm about that sis, actually he's a boy." Kiba admitted, slightly embarrassed as he told his sister. He may have told her before that he thought he was bi but this was the first time it was more than a thought.

"Oh. So you finally confirmed your preferences?" Hana raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah sort of. But don't tell mom yet please." Kiba pleaded.

"I won't. Now if you'll excuse me, I still have to go home. It is a one hour drive you know. Visit us some weekend if you can."

"Yeah I'll try. Bye sis. Thanks again."

"Bye Kiba."

With that Hana left and Kiba carried his present back to the garden but he saw that Naruto was actually watching him from across the street, waiting on the left side of the house.

'It's Naruto. Oh no, did he hear the conversation with my sister? No he couldn't have because I was across the street and it wasn't like I was shouting and with the party music blaring, it's impossible.'

"Hey Kiba, who was that you were talking to?" the blond asked as Kiba approached him.

"It's my sister Hana. She brought me my present for you." Kiba literally saw the blond's face lit up from excitement.

"Let me see, let me see. I thought you actually forgot to give me one, but I guess you just want to be late to get my attention." he teased.

"Hehe. I'm sure you'll love him."

"Him?" Naruto tilted his head to one side.

"Come on let's go inside. I don't want the others to see him just yet." Using the front door, they went inside the living room and as Kiba expected, no one was there.

"Hey that's a puppy's cage. You bought me a dog?" Naruto asked in surprised and wonder, not believing that Kiba was one to give something like that. Well it only figures since he was still ignorant of the depth of Kiba's feelings for him.

"Not a dog Naruto. Not even a canine." Kiba put down the small cage and opened it. "_Vulpes vulpes_, or otherwise known as the Red Fox."

From out of the cage a small fox made its way out to be greeted by the happy and excited face of his new owner, Naruto.

"Kiba he's so cute! I love foxes. How did you know I love them?"

"I have my ways." Kiba smirked.

Naruto stared at the adorable little pup. It could be seen that it was not yet fully grown but old enough to be away from its mother.

"But Kiba, aren't foxes sort of wild animals? Is it even legal to get one?"

"Yeah but this one is different. There is a breeding program that started in Russia that aimed to domesticate foxes. And after 50 years of their hard work, they finally managed to breed a pure but domesticated one. It will pretty much act like a dog."

"Whoa that is cool. Can I carry him?"

"Sure. Just be a little careful." Naruto picked up the little fur ball, carefully lifting it up and making sure the weight of the fox was evenly distributed to his arms. The pup reached out its paws playfully at Naruto, its eyes looking at him as if it were studying him, figuring if he was friend or foe.

"Kiba are you sure this is really domesticated? It really won't eat me when I'm asleep?" Naruto asked with reasonable doubt.

"Just look at it Naruto. How can something so cute eat you?"

"I'm serious Kiba. What if it's grows up and its animal instincts tell it to eat live meat?" Kiba couldn't help but smile at the face Naruto made. He looked like he really thought that the fox would eat him when he's asleep.

"You don't have to worry about that. As I told you, these foxes were bred for fifty years using a special type of selection. Whenever baby foxes are born, they would only choose those who were the tamest and shows the most promise of being domesticated. Then they'll breed them and then they'll do the same selection for the babies and so on. In time, the wildness will eventually disappear and then voila you have your domestic fox. Wolves are named _Canis lupus_ and since dogs descended from them, they are named _Canis lupus familiaris_, basically the same species. These foxes are really those found in the wild but bred in captivity and bear the same scientific name as the ones they came from. I won't be surprised if they decide to call it _Vulpes vulpes familiaris_ one day" Kiba explained to him.

"Uhm I guess too much information may also apply to this because I really had a hard time keeping up to your explanation." Naruto said, scratching his hair. "But I think that's enough to reassure me. I always wanted a puppy when I was a kid but I never thought that it would be a fox's puppy. Why would give something like this for my birthday? This must have cost a fortune. And we've been friends for like only about a month and a half. So why a fox because it just doesn't add up"

'I guess it's finally time I told him about my feelings for him. I don't have anything to lose. Now here goes nothing.'

"You're not just my friend Naruto. I bought him for you because I lik…" But his confession was foiled by the front door opening and them hearing a call for Naruto.

"Naruto." Both of the teens turned to look at the door and saw the two persons who just came in and ruined what would have been Kiba's best chance to confess. Kiba saw Naruto's face light up again and turning again to the two who came, he noticed that the male looked a lot like Naruto, an adult version with the same deep blue eyes and blond hair but longer and spikier. He was holding the woman with a long, deep red hair and same blue eyes beside him around her waist. Kiba could only deduce that they were Naruto's parents.

"Guys you came!" Naruto ran up to his parents and greeted them with a hug.

"Of course we came. It's not every day that it's your birthday, y'know. So happy birthday Naruto." his mother greeted him.

"Happy birthday son." he also heard from his dad.

"What's that you're carrying dad?" Naruto asked, looking at the box with a red ribbon on his father's hand.

"It's cake. I thought you may want something specially made."

"Thank you guys. It really means a lot to me that you're here. Kurama-niisan also came."

"Well as expected of your brother. Even if he has a major test, he'll ditch that just to spend time with you, y'know." his mom stated. "Our gift is on the garage by the way. It was there since this afternoon actually."

"The garage? What is it?"

"It's a mountain bike. Since Konoha is a small town with very few cars, your father thought it will be helpful if you just used a bike to get around town."

"Gee thank you very much."

Kiba felt a little out of place as he watched the happy family chatting. He was finally about to tell Naruto that he likes him but his parents just had to come at that exact time. And Naruto most probably doesn't even remember that Kiba was about to say something very, very important for the both of them.

"Hey I want you to meet my best friend." Naruto pulled his mother's hand, which then pulled her husband, and led them to the brunet.

"This is Kiba, the one I told you about in my emails. Kiba, these are my parents." Naruto introduced them to each other.

"A pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Uzumaki." Kiba said. He heard Naruto's mother giggle but he didn't know why.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person Kiba. I'm Minato Namikaze and this is my wife Kushina." Kiba was surprised to hear that his name was actually Namikaze, and then if he remembered correctly, that was also what Kurama's surname. He tried to think about it but he saw Naruto's dad reach out a hand to him. Kiba took it and shook hands with him, dismissing his thought for later. "Naruto's been talking non-stop about you in all his emails. You and he must be pretty close friends."

"Yes we are."

"And you're a really handsome boy." Kushina smiled. Kiba blushed at the compliment. "That's probably why Naruto here…" Kiba saw Naruto pinching his mother, most likely to stop her from saying something and the next thing he saw was Naruto's mother giving her son a smack to the head and Naruto mumbling an 'Itai!'. She was scary.

"Well we'll leave you two here and we'll go outside. I think we interrupted something earlier." Minato said apologetically.

'Yeah just the confession of my life.' Kiba rolled his eyes in his thoughts. Rude to do to your best friend's father whom you've just met but if you thought about what they just ruined, it was a relatively understandable action.

"So, what was it that you were going to say a while ago Kiba?" Naruto asked when his parents were gone.

"It's uh, nothing. Never mind." The moment was already ruined so why bother? He can do his confession some other time and hopefully there will be no idiot brothers and Naruto's parents to ruin the moment.

"Well if there's nothing you have to say, can we leave him here for a while?" Naruto asked, pointing to the little fox.

"Yeah sure. I made sure Hana fed him earlier before bringing him here so I guess he'll be alright. So, what are you going to name him?"

"Hmm. It's kind of hard to think right now so maybe I can just name him later. But now we should go back outside. I think I want another slice of pizza." Naruto said, rubbing his stomach.

"Yeah let's go." Naruto ran towards the back door while Kiba walked towards it, his shoulders hanging low.

'He didn't even remember what I was supposed to say. He already asked why I gave him something as special as a fox and it was the perfect opportunity to tell him. But now it's all down the drain. But at least he's happy with the gift.'

A/N:

(1) Kurama is called Nine Tails because he uses Nine Tails when he fights. 2 fists, 2 elbows, 2 feet, 2 knees and one head (for headbutts).

REVIEWS are highly appreciated. They're one of the only things that keep writers wanting to write more. It helps us know that there really are people who are reading our story and it's not just the number of views increasing. Writing stories are like having a conversation. If you don't get replies from who you're talking to, you get bored and think what you're doing is pointless. So enough of my drama and just stay tuned.


	10. Naruto's Visit

Chapter 10

**Naruto's Visit**

It has been three weeks since Naruto's birthday and also three weeks that Kiba still hasn't made his move yet. Kiba told himself that the week after Naruto's birthday that he would confess already but somehow he felt a little bit nervous and he hasn't found the perfect way to say it yet. Kurama even called him to check up on his progress but he just made excuses that didn't please the redhead. So Kurama has threatened Kiba that if he didn't make a move by this week that he will personally tell Naruto about Kiba himself. This made the dog lover panic because he didn't want the blond to know about his feelings for him that way. He wanted to be the one to tell him himself.

And more than that, Kiba also heeded Kurama's tip and request and ever since, he watched Sasuke. It turned out that Kurama was indeed correct and that Sasuke did look at Naruto away from what one would consider platonic. He didn't notice it before because he wasn't looking for it. He always thought that the Uchiha was straight, since during their middle school he 'straightened' up some of their schoolmates through his fists. One even got too scared of him and got himself a girlfriend, futile as it was. But no one knew that the Uchiha was only doing it because he himself was one of them and in the stage of denial.

So now that he learned this fact about Sasuke, Kiba would almost always make sure that he stays with Naruto, especially when they had Music classes. But it so happens that Naruto had Literature with Sasuke for their last period during Tuesdays and Thursday when they don't have Gym or Music classes. But Kiba would still make sure he reaches the blond's room as soon as the bell rang so that the Uchiha wouldn't be able to make a move towards Naruto.

His plan may have worked for most of the time, but Sasuke was still Naruto's friend and it was inevitable that for some afternoons, Naruto would spend time together with him and not Kiba. If Kiba protests every time Naruto says he'll go out with Sasuke, he would look suspicious. Kiba would stalk them if he could but he didn't think Naruto would appreciate that.

And with all that, there came a time that Kiba had to leave the blond alone with Sasuke because Mr. Shimura had asked of him to help carry some documents to his office. It was Friday and they've just been dismissed from their Music class. Kiba had already made sure that for this Friday night it would be him and Naruto who would be spending time together and made sure that the blond told the raven this information. And so after carrying what would be about 20 lbs of document to Mr. Shimura's office, as he was returning to the front of their Music classroom where Naruto was waiting, he heard Naruto and Sasuke talking.

This time, a part of his brain told him that he should listen to their conversation, so as to know how Naruto and Sasuke's relationship really stand. When he was near the corner he made sure to walk silently like a ninja undercover. He decided to stay behind the corner and watch whatever it is that will transpire and not act on impulse to whatever he hears or sees.

"Naruto, I think I've waited long enough. I really want us to be more than friends. I can't stop thinking about you." he heard Sasuke say. So it was confirmed for the first time, Kiba himself hearing Sasuke say it.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I mean I just don't see the two of us ever becoming more than friends Sasuke." While Sasuke's face turned into of disappointment, Kiba's heart jumped for joy when he heard Naruto say that. That means the possibility of Sasuke stealing Naruto away from him is low or probably even zero. But there's still more to hear so he just stayed put in his eavesdropping corner and listened to them.

"Last time, you told me that you thought I was moving too fast but it has been a month. I think I've already shown you how serious I am about this. I'll break up with Karin right now just too prove it to you." the raven said determinedly.

"You don't have to do that. I know you're serious Sasuke but you yourself know why I can't." the blond replied sadly.

"It's because of Inuzuka right?"

"Yes."

Kiba's eyes grew wide at hearing Naruto's response.

'So Sasuke has been asking out Naruto but he declines because of… me?'

"I don't really understand you Naruto. Kiba's straight and you'll gain nothing by just being his friend. Who knows what he'll do if he finds out you're gay and in love with him. He'll probably ditch you and spread the word to the whole institution. But I'm not like him. I can give you something that he can't. I can give something more than friendship."

"Shut up Sasuke." It was said under Naruto's breath. If it wasn't that the hall was deserted with people, Kiba probably would have missed it. But Kiba heard it, including the hint of spite that the tone carried. It shut the raven up.

"Don't say another word about Kiba because whatever you said about him is false. So stop badmouthing him just because you think this will change what I feel about him because it won't." Naruto then smiled sadly. "I like you Sasuke but… not in the way that I like Kiba so get this fact over that head of yours and drop it now if you still want to be my friend." Sasuke was taken aback by Naruto's words, or better called 'threat'.

Kiba saw Sasuke lean forward and he realized what Sasuke was about to do. He was prepared to stop it but it seemed like Naruto noticed it too and pushed Sasuke off.

"Don't even think about it Sasuke. I may have let you kiss me many times before but don't think I'm going to let you do that starting from now." Kiba was appalled by what he heard from Naruto. He couldn't believe that they've kissed before and from what he just heard, it wasn't just one time but most likely many times and since when did it start? How could he have been so oblivious? Kurama was right. He should have been more wary of Sasuke before.

"Where is Kiba? He should have returned by now." he heard Naruto mutter to himself. Kiba realized that he has eavesdropped for way too long and that he should act fast so that he wouldn't get caught. So he walked stealthily away from the corner and then walked back to it, albeit with much louder footsteps. He turned around the corner acting as if he just returned.

"What took you so long Kiba?" Naruto asked.

"Uhm, Mr. Shimura has asked me to arrange the documents for him so it took me a few minutes more to get back. So shall we go?" Kiba asked as if he wasn't just eavesdropping not a minute ago.

"Yeah."

As they walked the hall away from Sasuke, Kiba could swear that the raven was studying him. He panicked on the thought that Sasuke might have seen through his lie and knew that he was eavesdropping. But he never made a sound so the Uchiha may believe he lied about his excuse but he wouldn't know what he really did. Naruto wouldn't really like it if he learned that he eavesdropped on them during the time that Naruto was telling Sasuke how he liked Kiba and not him.

...

"Whew. This week was really tiring." Naruto said as he let himself fall back on Kiba's couch. "Hey where's Shino?"

"I think he went to the mall to help his father."

"Weird. Every time I visit your place he never seems to be around. Coincidence maybe?"

'Not coincidence Naruto but in truth, I made sure we're alone every time you visit here. But I'm not going to tell you that.' the brunet thought.

Knock knock. They heard the door sound and Kiba went to open it.

"Hey Kiba, do you happen to have any superglue stocked in here? One of my insect containers fell and got detached." a man who looked like to be in his early twenties asked. He wore as deep purple shirt and black gloves on his hands. And even though it was like 6 in the evening, he was still wearing sunglasses.

"I think I may still have some. Just wait inside Torune. I'll go get it." Kiba rushed to his bedroom to search for the superglue. Torune on the other hand sat on the couch. Naruto has gotten up from lying on it the moment Kiba opened the door so he was now sitting on it too.

"So, you're Naruto right?" the blond heard the man ask.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I sometimes hear Kiba and Shino talking about you. You're blond hair and orange shirt may have given you away."

"Oh. I like orange." Naruto admitted.

"Anyway, I'm Torune, Shino's cousin." Torune reached his hand out and Naruto took it and shook hands with him.

"Shino has never mentioned you before."

"He hasn't? Well I might as well introduce myself. I live in the room below this one along with my roommate Foo. He's Ino's cousin. We're in our 4th year in Root University. You might say we two are Shino and Kiba's guardian. I mean what kind of parents would let two 16 year olds live on their own? Capable they might be but they're technically not adults yet."

"Yeah I was wondering about that but I never asked Kiba about it. So I guess it clears things up a little." Naruto said.

"I found it Torune. Here." Kiba approached him and gave the superglue. Torune gave his thanks and made his way out the door but not before saying an 'It was nice meeting you.' to Naruto.

"Torune told me that he is Shino's cousin and that he and Ino's cousin Foo are kind of your babysitters." Naruto said to Kiba.

"Did he? Well anyway, I did bring you here for a reason." From out of nowhere, Kiba took out a guitar and handed it to Naruto.

"This one is Foo's. I haven't heard you play the guitar yet so maybe I could get a special performance from you."

"A special performance, eh? That would cost a bit." Naruto smirked.

"How about pizza? Sounds good enough?" Kiba smirked back.

"Yeah that seems nice. So what do you want me to play?" Naruto asked as he tested the guitar, seeing if there were any strings out of tune.

"I don't know. Anything you feel like playing." Naruto heard that the G string was a bit flat so he turned the peg a little bit and then tested the string again, this time sounding in tune. Naruto tried a G chord and after hearing it, decided that the guitar was already in tune.

"Do I have to sing?" Naruto asked nervously. Of course he was nervous. He was about to play guitar in front of his crush and Kiba may want him to sing too. Why did he have to bring that up? Now Kiba would definitely ask him to sing.

"Sure. I'd love to hear your voice." Kiba happily agreed. Naruto took a deep sigh, accepting his fate and started to strum. The intro consisted of complicated plucking and strumming of the strings but Naruto seemed to be doing it with ease.

**_I was on the road despite the holiday_**

**_A wintergreen daydream softly collided and took all my headaches away_**

**_When did I arrive? I don't recall ever leaving Alaska_**

**_Why do I hate the dark when I'm alone?_**

**_I was on my way to a brighter day_**

**_I'm still chasing around_**

**_But somehow I believe that this is home_**

**_It's so good to be home_**

As Naruto was playing and singing, Kiba couldn't help but be entranced with Naruto's voice. He never imagined the blond who was sometimes a loudmouth ever possessing an angel like voice. It was a little husky and almost dreamy. Naruto really made a good interpretation on the lyrics of the song. The song was relaxing and Kiba felt like he could listen to it over and over again.

Naruto showed off his guitar skills again at the interlude before he continued singing the next stanza.

**_I was on the ground when I recall the day_**

**_That my discomposure left me forever_**

**_And swept all my troubles away_**

**_When did I arrive? I don't recall ever leaving Alaska_**

**_Why do I hate the dark when I'm alone?_**

**_I was on my way to a brighter day_**

**_I'm still chasing around_**

**_But somehow I believe that this is home_**

**_It's so good to be home_**

The song finished and Naruto laid down the guitar. Kiba was looking speechless, really amazed by Naruto's performance.

"So, was I any good?" Kiba heard Naruto ask, snapping him out of his daze.

"Were you any good? Man you were awesome! Seriously you sound like an angel or something. Why didn't you join the choir?"

"Not really my thing. I think I like playing the flute more than singing."

"But you're really good at it. It's a shame that the world would not get to hear your voice."

"Wow Kiba I'm really flattered. How about I hear you sing?" the blond suggested.

"Nah I suck. I tried singing while I'm in the shower and my sister Hana would bang the door and tell me to stop before her ears burst." Kiba said laughing. Naruto couldn't hold his laugh as well. "So what's that song called anyway? I've never heard it before."

"It's called 'Alaska' by Sky Sailing. You may not know Sky Sailing but I'm sure you've heard of Owl City right?"

"Yeah. The dude who can't sleep and sang about fireflies."

"Yup that's the one. His real name is Adam Young and Sky Sailing is just another one of his projects, like Owl City. It has a different style of music so he decided to use a different name for it."

"Sky Sailing. It seems like the perfect name. I mean your voice made it seem like we were really sailing on the sky." Kiba heard Naruto giggle at his statement. "What's so funny?"

"You are actually. I never thought you'd be one to say things like that."

"What? It's what I truly felt." Kiba defended.

"You know, I've always wanted to go on the countryside. Where I came from, we lived in a town similar to Konoha but since it's in a small island, I've never been to the countryside, where there aren't many houses and cars and there are lots and lots of grass and trees. It seems so peaceful. Maybe that's why I like listening to songs like those of Sky Sailing's."

"You lived on an island? Where? How are the beaches?"

"It's my mother's hometown, the town of Whirlpools. And for the beaches, they're pretty dangerous with all the whirlpools surrounding the island."

"I've heard about that town. Never thought you came from there. But anyway, why don't we go?"

"Go?" Naruto asked confused.

"To the countryside. We can go visit my place tomorrow."

"Really?" the blond asked, sounding really excited.

"Yeah. We can ask Torune to drive us there, maybe even bring your new bike with us."

"That sounds really awesome Kiba. I'd love to go. And it's perfect. There happens to be no classes this coming Monday so maybe I can stay there until Sunday."

"Yeah. I'll call Hana and tell her. She said that I should visit home sometime and she'll be glad to hear it." Kiba said as he fumbled in his jeans' pocket for his phone.

"Then I'll call my parents and Jiraiya too. I'm sure they'll let me come since we have an adult to accompany us." the blond said, referring to Torune.

And with not a moment to waste, both teens called their guardians and thankfully, Naruto was given permission to come with Kiba. It was on short notice but Kushina became excited in hearing about it that Minato didn't even get to have a say in it. Naruto just had to inform Jiraiya of their decision and he'll be free to go.

"I can't wait for tomorrow." Kiba said with a smirk.

"Me too." Naruto said with the same excitement.

...

"Naruto, can you please try not to be as excited as you are now? You're wrecking the house!" Konan pointed out to her overly excited cousin. Since Konan is Nagato's adopted sister and Nagato is Naruto's cousin, then Naruto might as well be Konan's cousin.

"I know, I know. But what if I forgot to bring something that I need and I should have brought it?" Naruto said in panic as he went round and round the house, looking for things that he could bring. Clothes were strewn over the floor and even kitchen utensils were dropped haphazardly.

"You've already prepared for this yesterday evening so what do you think do you still need to bring that you haven't already put in the gigantic bag of yours? And what's with the bag anyway, this is not a camping trip."

"Won't you just let me feel excited Konan-neesan. I'm going to be spending two days with Kiba so I have the right to be excited. Who knows what you'll do if Yahiko-niisan asks you out?" And that statement cut Konan off, leaving her with a flushed face.

"Fine, fine. I just want to tell you that you already have what you need so stop storming the house to look for more."

**_Beep beep beep._** They heard a car honking outside.

"That must be Kiba!" Naruto hurriedly took his bag and scrammed to the front door and then to the street, seeing a black pick-up with Kiba and Akamaru peeking through the window.

"Hey Kiba." Naruto shouted at him then went to the car and put his 'camping' bag on the seat.

"Hey you forgot to bring Kyuubi." Konan said as she followed Naruto and handed him the little fox that was in his small cage. Naruto took it from her.

"Here, can you hold Kyuubi-kun for me, Kiba." he asked from the brunet. Kiba took Kyuubi's cage. Naruto has decided to call his little fox Kyuubi, which meant Nine Tails. It was his brother Kurama's nickname in the martial arts field and there was also a Japanese legend of a nine-tailed demon fox so that's where he got the name.

"Naruto. Help me place your bike on the pick-up." Yahiko called out to him.

"I'll help you Yahiko." Kiba volunteered and then they placed Naruto's brand new orange mountain bike on the back of the truck. After making sure it's secured and won't fall off, Kiba made his way back to the car and took his seat beside Naruto. Torune was of course on the driver seat and Shino beside him.

"Torune, thank you very much for driving us home." Kiba said.

"Yeah, thanks Torune-san." Naruto also said.

And then they zoomed off to the countryside. Shino had already placed his earbuds and set the volume to loud. Torune would have done the same but he was driving so cutting off one of his five senses was not a good idea. He'd just have to endure Kiba and Naruto's ranting all the way to their destination.

...

The drive was exactly one hour. There was no traffic in the village and there were almost no cars on the road outside Konoha. Naruto noticed the increase in the number of trees and the vast grass fields and he knew that they were near Kiba's place. Looking out the window, Naruto saw a river, an actual river, and he couldn't help but want to go there and swim.

"Kiba can we go to the river and swim?" he asked.

"Yeah sure. Did you bring extra clothes for swimming?"

"Not really but I brought tons of other clothes so don't worry about that."

And then it was at that time that lewd thoughts erupted from Kiba's mind. Swimming in the river. Swimming only in their boxers. Swimming without clothes. Getting a blowjob from… STOP! You'll get a nosebleed!

"Kiba why does your face look so red? It's like your tattoos are vanishing." Naruto said as he watched Kiba daydreaming.

"Oh uhm. I don't know. Maybe my body just decided to provide more blood to my face than necessary. There doesn't have to be a reason you know." the brunet gave as an excuse. Naruto couldn't hold his laugh.

"Seriously Kiba? That's like… I don't know… haha… it's just… haha… I can't believe you just said something like that."

Kiba was taken aback. He didn't know why he said that reason. He sounded even more scientific and just out-right funny than when Naruto talked about being in tropical countries to reason out his blush.

"Stop laughing would you? Besides, look." Kiba said, pointing at the big house that had come into view. "We're here."

The car stopped and the two teens got out. Naruto looked at Kiba's house. It was a two story country style house which was at least 700 square meters in size. And that was not the only thing worth noticing. It was the huge number of dogs who were charging their way into their direction.

"Gahh! Kiba save me!" Naruto hid behind Kiba like a small boy hiding behind his mother's skirt. Well it was only understandable if you saw around 20 dogs going your way and all you could think was that they were going to rip you to ribbons.

He heard Kiba whistle and the dogs stopped their charging and slowly walked their way towards them. Naruto was still holding his fox and he feared that the dogs may not like him and then decide to eat the little thing.

"Kiba what do I do? You didn't warn me about this. What if they attack me and Kyuubi?" Naruto asked in fear and panic.

"Relax. I've already told them that you're a friend and Kyuubi's from here so they know him. Just let the dogs walk towards you and let them sniff your scent so they can familiarize with you. Just stand your ground and don't panic." Kiba instructed.

"Okay." Following what Kiba said, Naruto stood his ground and let the dogs flood him along with their noses. His sweat was dripping and it was all he could do not to run away. But he remembered that running away from dogs will only encourage them to chase you, thinking that you want to play with them and Naruto had no intention of testing that theory.

After about two minutes and the dogs had their fill, they returned one by one to the yard to play with each other, Akamaru included. Naruto didn't even notice but his bike was already placed on the sidewalk and the pick-up had already left.

"I'll take your bike to the shack." Kiba offered. Naruto nodded and they stored his bike there, then they entered Kiba's house. It was huge. It was not what was in Naruto's mind. He didn't know Kiba's family was this rich. But not that it shocked him that much. He was used to this sort of things anyway. He may not have mentioned it to Kiba but his family are also well-off and Naruto's real house was even way bigger than this one. But the difference was that the Inuzuka compound is a compound and the property was huge, about 3 hectares and there were other small houses surrounding the main house, not to mention the large number of cages with the dogs that they are well known to breed.

"Hey there. You must be Naruto." A woman who looked to be in her early twenties with a long brunet hair tied in a ponytail and sharing the same red fang tattoos on her cheeks said as she climbed down the stairs. "I'm Kiba's sister Hana. It's a pleasure to finally meet you Naruto."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Hana-san." Naruto replied.

"Please just call me Hana." she said, raising one hand to Naruto. "So, you guys must be hungry."

"Yeah we're starving." Kiba agreed. And not so long after, they found themselves eating the special sandwiches that Hana prepared for them. To Naruto's surprise, instead of meat or a sandwich spread inside, it was special noodles that were used as a filling. Naruto never had anything like that before and since he himself likes noodles, from ramen especially, he gave it a try and found himself liking it.

"This is delicious." Naruto said with honesty.

"They're one of Hana's specialties. She enjoys cooking Japanese cuisine as a hobby, well since we have Japanese ancestry. And she's really good at it. I really missed your cooking Hana." Kiba said, turning to his sister.

"I'm just glad you and your boyfriend likes it." she said, with an evil little smirk on her lips. Kiba realized it immediately and prayed to every deity out there that Naruto didn't hear that one word that Hana intentionally said.

"HEY WE SHOULD GO BIKING AFTER THIS NARUTO, WHAT DO YOU SAY?" Kiba abruptly said in a booming voice.

"Don't talk so loud while you're at the table Kiba." Hana scolded him, not expecting Kiba to speak out like that after she said the word 'boyfirend'.

"Uhm sorry, it was just kind of a spur-of-the-moment thought." Kiba said as he put a hand on the back of his head and laughed nervously. He inconspicuously turned to look at Naruto's reaction and it seemed that he just looked surprised about his sudden outburst so maybe he didn't hear what Hana said. Or at least he was good at hiding it. But then again, Naruto's cheeks had a slight tint of red in them so maybe he heard it. But since Kiba had successfully made a show of himself, Naruto probably had forgotten about it already so there should be no need to worry, right?

"Now why don't Naruto and I go out and get our bikes?" Kiba said as he stood up from his seat and then grabbed Naruto by his arm to lead him away from the table. "We'll see you later at lunch, sis." he managed to say in a normal tone but his glaring eyes implied 'You're dead!' to his sister.

"Uhm, thanks again for the food Hana. It really was delicious." Naruto said as he excused himself.

"Yeah. Have fun you two." Hana just happily waved at them.

...

"So, are you ready?" Kiba asked, himself now mounted on his own bike.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded as he finished placing his helmet on and was also mounted on his brand new bike.

"Then let's go."

Both of them started to pedal and not too long, they were going downhill at about 15 kph. The wind was hitting their faces wildly and Naruto had never felt as free as he was then. He enjoyed the sceneries that the countryside has to offer. It was just like he imagined. The leaves were falling from the trees signifying autumn and their orange and brown colors were a sight to behold as the wind carried them. Naruto saw the same river he did when he was in the car, parallel to the road they were travelling on. They were biking for about 20 minutes when Naruto heard Kiba shout.

"Hey Naruto look at me!" When Naruto turned his head, he saw that Kiba was riding hands free from the bike's handle as if it was a very simple and not a dangerous thing to do.

"Whoa that's cool. But isn't that a bit dangerous Kiba?" Naruto asked with worry.

"The road is perfectly straight and there aren't any small rocks on it. And there isn't a car within a kilometer distance from us so I should be fine." Kiba assured him.

"Okay but take care of yourself."

"Got you." Kiba decided that he should heed Naruto's advice and so he placed his hands back on the handle. He really didn't want his best friend worrying about him. "You want an advice, Naruto?"

"An advice? Yeah sure, what is it?" the blond asked curiously.

"Talk with your mouth pointing down a bit."

"Why would I point it… (cough, cough, cough)"

"See I told you. Nasty little creatures these small bugs are." Kiba laughed softly.

"Eww! I think I got one on my mouth. Why didn't you warn me earlier?" Naruto complained to his amused biking buddy.

"I just did you know."

"Hey I want to stop here." Naruto called out and both of them stopped beside the road. Naruto took out the water bottle from his bike and then gargled with it to clear any remnants of the bug that he almost swallowed.

"That was really gross." he exclaimed.

"Come on it's just a little bug." Kiba chuckled. He also took out his own water bottle and took a drink from it.

"Then why don't you try eating one." Naruto challenged.

"Believe me. That knowledge comes from experience." That statement seemed to satisfy Naruto and so he let the bug topic go.

"Hey, how long does that river run?" the blond asked.

"I think it goes until the other town. Want to swim?"

"Yeah I'd love to."

"Once we get back to the compound we can swim there. The river runs inside it so it will be safer if we swam there." Kiba explained.

"Awesome."

...

"You're back already." Hana stated when both boys entered the house. They seem pretty excited about something so that was maybe the reason why they came back early.

"Hey sis, we're going out for a swim in the river so I just came by to let you know." said Kiba.

"Okay but take Akamaru with you. He's a good swimmer and in case anything happens, he'll make sure your safe."

"Thanks. We'll have our lunch after swimming."

"If you want I can prepare you your lunch so that you can just eat by the river. Sounds good?" Hana offered. She was such a sweet sister to Kiba, but she liked to tease him and sometimes she had hidden intentions.

"Even better. Where's mom anyway?"

"She's out of town to attend a three day seminar about domestication. It seems that the domesticated foxes really interested her and she wants to try and do it with other related species. She'll be back by Tuesday." Hana informed him.

"Uh, okay. Why don't we play some video games while we wait for Hana's cooking?" Kiba proposed to his best friend.

"Great. Do you have any shooting games? I really love those. It gets up my adrenaline."

"Sure. How about Far Cry 3?" the brunet suggested.

"Awesome. I know how to play that game. Let's do multiplayer online."

Kiba and Naruto made their way into the living room. Kiba set the Xbox One up and inserted the Far Cry 3 DVD. Naruto took the couch and the wireless controller. Kiba sat next to him with his own controller, trying to find the closest possible distance he could sit with Naruto without being 'too close' to him.

Soon the two were playing a Free-for-all and Kiba was beating the heck out of Naruto. Every time that Naruto respawned, it seemed like Kiba manages to find him immediately and starts shooting at him before he could even get better weapons. The blond was sporting a scowl on his face and glaring at Kiba every time he got killed in the game. Kiba was just laughing at Naruto and clearly enjoying that there was a game where he could best the blond. Their matches in Tekken 6 always ended in Kiba losing and Kiba also made faces at those times. But now that the situation was reversed, Kiba was relishing every moment of it.

"Come on Kiba. Couldn't you go shoot at the other players and let me get some momentum? I've only managed to get 5 kills and you already have 24." Naruto complained and pleaded at the same time.

"Okay. I was just having fun because you always beat the crap out of me in Tekken 6. I'll try to ignore you on the battlefield."

And when Kiba did just that, Naruto started to enjoy the game as well, shouting and yelling whenever he killed another player. Kiba decided that he liked Naruto's happy face better, though he could still say that a pouting Naruto also looked cute.

'Today I'll tell him. At the river, and we'll finally be more than just friends.' Kiba told himself as he played the game with his best friend and crush.

"Hah! I got you Kiba." the blond exclaimed. Even if Kiba's character got killed, he just smiled because he knew that the thought he just had was worth losing focus and being shot by Naruto in the game.

"Okay, no more Mr. Nice Guy, Naruto. Prepare yourself for my bullets."

A/N:

Disclaimer: Sky Sailing and its song Alaska is from the album An Airplane Carried Me To Bed (which was Sasuke's gift to Naruto) are owned by Adam Young and I'm not making any profit from using it in this story. But I just want to say that Adam Young is one of, if not my favorite music artist ever. Owl City, Sky Sailing, Port Blue, Insect Airport and Windsor Airlift, I love all his projects. It's like I'm promoting him here but I'm just a dedicated Hootowl.

Reviews are highly appreciated.


	11. By the River I Leaned Closer and Kissed

Warning: Contains graphic M scene. Read at your own risk.

Chapter 11

**By the River I Leaned Closer and Kissed**

"Kiba, I can see it." the blond said in an excited tone. After walking for about three minutes from the Inuzuka compound's main house, both teens have reached the river that ran through it. It wasn't any of those rivers that you see on the National Geographic which are more than a hundred feet across. It was only about 30 feet wide and the current was not fast. It even looked like it wasn't moving at all. The water was as clear as what you can see from a water bottle, the only difference was that there were dozens of fallen leaves that floated over it.

"We're here." Kiba announced, as if it wasn't obvious enough. "We can set up our food over there by that table." Naruto turned his head and looked at where Kiba pointed and indeed found a wooden table with two benches on each side.

"That's cool. Now we don't have to worry about putting a blanket on the ground." The blond happily made his way to the table and put the things he carried with them. There was the basket for the lunch Hana prepared for them and also a large water bottle. Kiba followed afterwards, putting a bag on top which contained all their change of clothes and towels. Kiba also brought a guitar with them so that they could pass time when they weren't swimming.

"So, do we eat first or swim?" Naruto asked.

"We should eat first. It's already past lunch. Besides, the river can wait and our stomachs can't. Won't you say Akamaru?" Kiba turned to the large white canine. The dog gave a woof in response, as if he could really understand what Kiba had just told him.

"This is a really nice place you have Kiba." Naruto said as he took out a lunch box from the basket. Hana prepared Oyakodon for them, saying it was one of her favorite dishes to cook.

"It is. This is where I grew up. It's been owned by my ancestors and passed down from generations to generations." Kiba replied.

"So, do you travel from here to school every day when you were still in elementary?"

"Yeah. My mother used to drive me every morning and afternoon. I studied in Konoha too when I was a kid and since mom worked there as a vet, she just had to open up and close her clinic earlier than most other. So starting this year, we decided that I should just live in a dorm with Shino so that we won't have to get tired from all the driving and so that mom's schedule would be more flexible." Kiba told him. They've already started to chow down on their meal, actually eating faster than any other. Well, they were Kiba and Naruto and they were the two most active from their group of friends so you can't blame them.

"You're sister's cooking is really amazing Kiba. I wish she was my sister. Jiraiya can't really cook anything close to this. Maybe Konan-neesan can try but your sister beats them by a landslide."

"Hehe. She's one heck of a cook."

"I wanted to ask about the small houses I saw earlier. Who lives in them?"

"Some of the workers live there. Our family specializes in breeding dogs and since there are just too many of them, it's inevitable that we need to have other employees. Many of them are also dog lovers so they chose to live in the compound."

"You said that Kyuubi was from here. So you breed foxes too?"

"Yeah. Mom started to breed them about two years ago after going through many troubles of getting permission from the original breeders in Russia. Since her name was quite well known in the dog breeders' society, she was allowed to breed them and also sell them. In time the foxes will even be more domesticated than Kyuubi and it will be easier to acquire them. Not all states will allow you to have a fox because it's still not considered as a domestic animal."

"Wow. You're family's business is really cool." Naruto commented. A few more minutes after, both of them have finished with their meal. Naruto said he wanted to jump in the river already but Kiba told him that it was better if they wait for about 30 minutes so that the food they just ate could settle first and not cause any of them problems.

"Naruto, can I ask you to play the guitar again and maybe sing?" Kiba said, getting the guitar and handing it to the blond. Naruto took it and didn't hesitate on giving Kiba his request.

"I'll play to pass our time but I won't sing." he firmly stated. Kiba frowned a little.

"But why not? I really love hearing you sing Naruto." A blush crept to Naruto's face as he heard those words. It wasn't every day that your crush compliments you and also that you two are all alone in the woods. Well they had Akamaru with them so technically they weren't alone.

"No, I'm not singing." Naruto said again. He checked the guitar again for its tuning and found that it still was in tune. He started playing, the song with a slow tempo to it. There wasn't any strumming, only a lot of complicated finger positions and plucking of the strings. The song was different from the one Naruto played the day before but it was all the same relaxing and beautiful. Kiba wondered where Naruto learnt this songs of his. Kiba really liked hearing him play.

"So, what's it called?" the brunet asked as Naruto finished the first song.

"It's called Shirohae, or The Rain Stops. It's a guitar version of the song Guren which is played by a leaf whistle and a violin."

"It was beautiful. You play beautiful." Kiba said with a smile to Naruto.

"Tha-thank you." Naruto stuttered. He was receiving too much compliments from Kiba and he might not be able to handle any more of them.

After that first song, he still played about three more. During that time that he played them, Kiba was intently watching him and Naruto couldn't help but feel nervous. What he really wanted the most is for Kiba to always notice him and now here he was, his attention all focused on Naruto. Nothing could make him happier than what he was experiencing now. Or so he thought.

"So, let's swim." Kiba said as he started removing his shirt. Naruto was caught by surprise at Kiba's actions so instead of answering him, what he did was just stare at Kiba who was taking off his shirt. It was very sexy to watch that he didn't even realize that he was staring.

"Like what you see?" Kiba asked in a teasing manner. The blond's face got redder, clearly embarrassed that he was caught staring by his crush.

"I uh… I better start taking off my clothes too." Naruto said and started taking off his shirt too.

"Hmm. You want to go swim naked?"

"WHAT!? NO! Why would you even ask that?!" the blond shouted in shock.

"Come on. Haven't you tried skinny-dipping before? And we're both boys and it's not like you have something I haven't seen before. And we shower naked during gym class together." Kiba defended. He was really hoping the blond would agree.

"No, I'm not going skinny-dipping." the blond said with finality.

"Maybe you're just afraid you'll get a hard-on if you see me naked. I mean, I'm hot." Kiba said, getting bolder and bolder and way too narcissistic.

"Uhh, Kiba can we stop talking about things like that. I'm a guy. Why will I get a hard-on if I see you naked?" Naruto has managed to say without a hint of nervousness. But it sure took a lot to pull that off. Right now he was asking why Kiba was making comments like that. It was just like that restroom incident with Sasuke. He wouldn't be surprised if Kiba came up to him and kissed him. Well it seemed too farfetched but the thought crossed his mind. He really wouldn't mind it if Kiba did just that. He was even hoping for it.

"If you're not up for it, then let's just swim in our boxers, okay?" Kiba said. Naruto nodded and both of them stripped until they were only in their boxers. Kiba wore a black one with small white doggy bone pattern on it. Naruto on the other hand wore a green one with orange frogs on it.

"How deep is the water?" the blond asked.

"Probably about 5 feet in this area but if you go further downstream it's deeper at about 7 feet." Kiba replied.

"I'll just stick with 5 feet. I don't want to take any chances on the 7 feet." And with that, Naruto plunged into the cool water of the river.

"Whoo! This is great! The water's freaking cold though." he shouted as he emerged from the water, his wild blond hair now wet and hanging down instead of its usual spiked up appearance. Kiba soon followed him, doing a cannonball near Naruto. There weren't any big rocks that they should worry about, only soft sand on the bed so cannonballs can be done without having to fear on hitting your head on a rock. Akamaru also followed and swam next to them. He was indeed a good swimmer as Hana said. Kiba even showed Naruto how Akamaru can swim while Kiba latched on to him.

After about ten minutes of playing in the water and doing stuffs that most teens would do, they decided to get a little break and sat on the river bank. It was already November and both didn't want to risk hypothermia. Kiba took two coke-in-cans from the basket, still ice cold because it was almost freezing when they put it there a while ago. He handed one to Naruto and sat beside him on the river bank.

"It's really amazing that you have a river in your backyard Kiba. I really hate pools you know because of the chlorine. I prefer the fresh water of the river." Naruto said as his eyes looked at the steady flowing of the river.

"Do you have a pool in your backyard?" Kiba asked curiously.

"Yeah in our real house. I don't swim much often there because I don't have anyone to swim with. Mom and dad are busy with work even during summer vacation, and Kurama-niisan doesn't like to swim. He'd go with me sometimes but it's rare."

"You know I think it's also cool to have a pool in your backyard. I mean only rich people have that right? So are you a rich kid or something?"

"My family's well off but I wouldn't say we're rich. I should be asking you the same thing. I mean just look at your house, it's huge and all the furniture seems so expensive."

"It's been passed down from generations to generations. The house was built like more than half a century ago. My mom just refurbished it and added some modern things so it would be more presentable."

Naruto took another gulp from his coke before placing it on the ground beside him. He looked at Kiba and grinned at him. Kiba blushed a little the action.

"I'm really glad I met you Kiba. You're the coolest best friend I have." Naruto said.

"Me too. I'm glad you were late the first day and sat next to me. You're my best friend too." Kiba also said to him. The brunet noticed that Naruto was shivering a bit, probably still cold because he just got out of the river. He really forgot about the fact that it was already November, but Naruto wanted to swim so eagerly that they jumped without thinking. And add the fact that they were drinking ice cold coke was just the perfect formula to getting the real 'cold'.

As if on instinct, Kiba got up and got a towel from the table. He returned to Naruto and sat behind him, covering him with the thick insulator. And within just seconds, Kiba could see that the blond's shivering slowly minimized until in came to a stop.

"Thanks Kiba. Why didn't you get a towel for yourself? You must cold like me too." Naruto said in a concerned tone.

"I guess I forgot." Kiba laughed softly. He did forget because what he was thinking about was Naruto, not himself. And indeed, he was also cold too. But it was not the best thing to return to the table again just to get another towel. Luckily, Kiba had another plan. Hit two birds with one stone.

Kiba took the towel that was wrapped around Naruto, surprising the blond. But what shocked him even more was that Kiba held onto him from behind, pulling him into an embrace and covering both of them with the towel.

Many thoughts came to the bewildered blond. 'Why is Kiba doing this? He's my best friend yes, but he's not gay, is he? What do I do? Having him hold me is so much warmer. I should just have him stay this way. Yes, I want to feel him closer to me. I don't need to ask why he's doing it.'

After all his musing, the nervous blond gained a little more confidence and held on to Kiba's arms that were wrapped around him. He leaned back to Kiba, wanting their bodies to be closer with each other, to feel each other's heat.

"Naruto." he heard Kiba call him in a soft voice. He felt the brunet's hold on him slowly losing grip. He didn't want him to let go but somehow he felt reassured that there was something Kiba was going to do so he let him. Naruto scooted a little forward and turned so that he was facing Kiba.

"What is it?" They were now looking eye to eye. The look on Kiba's eyes showed determination, while Naruto's showed curiosity. Naruto saw Kiba reaching his right hand out and then it met with his left cheek and lightly caressed it. Naruto shuddered a bit from the action. Kiba was acting strange but his mind didn't register that anymore. All he could think of was how he liked whatever it was that Kiba was doing to him.

"I've wanted to tell this to you for a long time." Kiba started. Naruto's deep-blue eyes blinked once, and then focused on Kiba's face. The brunet took a deep breath, preparing himself for this moment that he didn't want to postpone any longer.

"I like you Naruto." he confessed. It took a little time for Naruto's mind to process what he just heard Kiba say. He was surprised but instead of taking it as a confession, he took it in a very different way.

"Well, I like you too Kiba. You're really cool and you're my best friend and..." he said nervously. He immediately doubted that Kiba was really telling him that he 'liked' him. He always thought Kiba was straight so for him to say stuff like that, it was hard to even consider the possibility that he was really saying something not platonic.

Kiba on the other hand wanted to face palm himself but it would ruin the moment. There he was, finally confessing to his best friend/crush that he likes him and the blond who definitely also likes him took it as a friendly statement. Seeing that telling it again to the blond wouldn't get it through that skull of his, he opted for 'action speaks louder than words'.

Kiba leaned towards Naruto, who was still chuckling nervously, trying hard to find words to say as well. But soon all that was taken away as a pair of soft, warm lips met with his own. The blond didn't expect that Kiba would kiss him. He hoped, wished and dreamed for it but he didn't expect it. So his eyes were wide as he saw how his lips were joined with Kiba's. The brunet's eyes were closed. This time, he understood what Kiba really meant with what he said earlier. Naruto closed his eyes too and returned the kiss. With that, he felt Kiba's right hand pull him closer, deepening the kiss they were sharing.

Naruto felt his heart beat faster, his lips tingling with electricity. He was shaking a bit but he knew it was not from the nervousness that being close with the person he likes brought. It was from excitement and the desire to not let it end soon. His hands unconsciously replicated Kiba's movement and held on to the brunet and pulled him closer too. Their lips were taking too much pressure from how much they were pressing against each other but it didn't matter to them if it will bruise. All their pent up emotions were finally able to be released and this was only one of the ways of doing it.

Naruto felt Kiba's lips open and soon enough, his warm tongue was prodding at his lips. Naruto understood and opened his own mouth only to be attacked by Kiba as soon as his lips parted. Kiba's tongue was moving inside his mouth, violently trying to reach every corner of Naruto's cavern. Naruto decided to use his own tongue as well, flicking it against Kiba's. The brunet did the same and circled his own against Naruto's. But after a while, Naruto stopped and Kiba returned to exploring his lover's warm mouth.

They went at it for as long as they could but it was getting harder to breathe and the need for oxygen was something that cannot be ignored. They pulled away, taking short breaths in quick successions while looking at each other's eyes. It seemed that words were not needed for them to convey what they wanted to tell each other. They knew what the other was telling just by looking at their eyes.

"I like you Naruto." Kiba breathed out, his voice sounding husky. He wanted to say it again, even though he had already told it through his actions. He wanted to tell it if only to hear Naruto say it to him as well.

"I like you too, Kiba." Naruto smiled. And that was all it took to make him the happiest person alive. Now he knew. He knew that Naruto likes him as well. Not from his suspicions, not from what others told him and not from what he overheard the blond saying to someone else. Naruto told him himself and now there was no room for anymore doubts. Naruto likes him, and he likes the blond. They now know. They know that the other knows what they feel for the other. And they know that the other knows that they know.

They made out again after that. They didn't even realize that the towel that previously shielded them from the cold air was already lying on the ground and the cans of coke knocked down with their contents already spilt. The only one they saw was each other. Whatever was surrounding them did not matter. This was their time and theirs alone.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" Kiba asked.

"Yes." Naruto replied with a genuine smile.

Kiba kissed Naruto once again and pushed him down on the sand, their lips not breaking contact. Naruto willingly laid back as he tugged Kiba even closer to him. And that was when he felt it. Kiba's formed erection was poking against him. And it excited him.

"Kiba, you're hard." Naruto pointed out. Kiba knelt on his knees and straddled Naruto. He looked down and indeed there was a very obvious tent in his boxers. His face flushed with blood, embarrassed that he got hard from making out with his new lover. It was only understandable but still, the blush he sported was inevitable.

"I'm…" Kiba started, trying to find words to explain his situation. But he just heard Naruto chuckling softly. He waited for Naruto to tease him about it, knowing that at times like this, it was one of the things the blond enjoyed doing. But boy was he wrong.

"Do you… need help with that?" he heard Naruto ask shyly. Did he hear him correctly? Was he really offering to help take care of his problem? He wanted him to help but to ask a favor like that from Naruto, his boyfriend for not even a minute yet, it was just so embarrassing.

"Don't worry about this Naruto. I can will it away." he replied nervously. He wanted to get off, he really did. That slight friction from earlier when it rubbed a bit on Naruto's thigh felt so good but it was embarrassing. He didn't expect it but he clearly saw Naruto frown a bit after he said his reply.

"Oh." the blond mumbled sadly, disappointment clearly showing. "I just… want to help." After saying that, it looked like Naruto was thinking hard about something. His body movements were clearly telling Kiba that Naruto was battling in his mind about questions of 'Should I?' or 'Shouldn't I?'. A few seconds later Naruto has finally decided and spoke.

"I want to get you off Kiba. Will you let me?" he asked desperately, looking Kiba directly in the eye. When Naruto realized what he just said and how he sounded like, he retreated back and found himself blushing.

"I… it's not like I'm de- desperate or something… I just… I don't know…" Naruto said stuttering, getting more embarrassed second by second. As a teen with rampant hormones, Naruto had thought about things like this before. And he really wanted to do it. But asking Kiba, right at that moment, he didn't know what came into his mind for him to speak out his secret desires just like that.

Kiba just stared at him, not really knowing what he should do, what he should reply. He didn't expect this. He never thought that Naruto would be the one to offer to do it for him and that the blond also wanted it, just like him. Yes he wanted Naruto to get him off, to suck him off. He had imagined Naruto doing it to him dozens of time and he had even jerked off to most of his erotic daydreams.

"Are you su- sure about this Naruto? We just told each other that we like each other." Kiba replied nervously. "You don't have to do this, you know."

"I know, but I…" Naruto gulped. "I wanted to do this for so long. Please Kiba, just let me do this for you." he pleaded.

"Okay." Kiba said. And soon enough, the brunet found himself being pushed back by a shivering and obviously nervous Naruto onto the sand, this time initiating the kiss. The blond sat in between Kiba's thighs and straddled the brunet. Kiba felt the blond trailing kisses down his neck, onto his chest and then his chiseled abdomen. He gripped Naruto's blond locks as he bit on his lips, trying his best to hold back the moans that wanted to erupt from him.

All the time, he watched as his lover kissed him. Naruto finally reached the waistband of his boxers and with shaking hands, tugged it down to reveal Kiba's hard and aching erection. Naruto found himself captivated by the sight that was under him. He stared at it with awe, admiring its perfect shape, color and most of all its size. It was more or less six inches and for a guy who's only sixteen, it was an impressive feat.

"Don't stare at it Naruto." Kiba said. Even with the fact that he was about to get a blowjob, he still felt a little bit uncomfortable and shy for Naruto to be looking at his naked form. Although he might as well get used to it because he knew that there will be more of occasions like this in the future.

With a hand still shaking with both anxiety and excitement, Naruto reached out to grip Kiba's shaft. This elicited a moan from the brunet and Naruto could literally feel Kiba's body shudder. Naruto experimentally stroked Kiba's cock, the foreskin going up to cover the red swollen head and then rolling back down to completely reveal it once again. Soon enough Naruto picked up the pace and beads of precum has started to form on the slit. The sight only enticed Naruto more. The blond badly wanted to taste the white pearl that was beginning to drip. He wanted to engulf his lover's cock inside his mouth and suck on it. He couldn't wait anymore and he let go of his restraints and dived in, taking in half of Kiba's length.

"Ahh!"

Kiba moaned as he felt the first sensation of Naruto's warm and wet mouth surrounding his erection. Naruto's tongue began flicking on the sensitive head of Kiba's cock and it took all the brunet could to keep his hips down and not thrust upward and deeper into the blond's throat. Kiba could feel his blood engorging his cock even more as Naruto did some experimental sucking. It felt so good. He never imagined that it would feel like what he was feeling now. His wet dreams about the blond could not even begin to compare to what he was experiencing at that moment. This was the real thing. Naruto was giving him head and it was all real.

The blond continued with his oral ministrations, rotating from sucking, licking, bobbing his head up and down, humming and even trying to deep throat the impressive length. And his hand was just as active as his mouth and tongue as he continued stroking Kiba's shaft up and down.

"Naruto!" he heard Kiba moan out his name for the first time. "Don't stop! It feels so good."

Kiba's plea only encouraged Naruto to continue his actions, passionately giving his lover head like an expert. Kiba's grip on his hair got tighter and he could feel the brunet's hand pushing down on his head so that he could take in his cock deeper. Naruto tried his best to suppress his gag reflex and with enough concentration, he managed to swallow the whole of Kiba's length down to its base.

"Ahhh! Naruto I'm… ahh! I'm close!" Kiba warned. Instead of retreating his mouth from the soon to erupt cock of Kiba, Naruto sucked more fervently and pumped even faster. And his actions came with its reward.

"NARUTO!" Kiba shouted as he spilled his load into Naruto's mouth. His body shook violently as each wave of pleasurable spasm washed over him. His restraint was broken as he thrusted his hips up into Naruto's mouth, wanting to feel the most out of the experience.

Naruto was a bit surprised at Kiba's actions. He wasn't expecting Kiba to thrust into his mouth but nonetheless welcomed the action. He felt each shot of the warm, sticky, slightly salty and bitter taste of Kiba's cum spill inside his mouth. And after about seven shots, Kiba's thrusting slowly came to a halt and the grip on Naruto's hair loosened. Naruto could still feel Kiba's cock twitching in his mouth but as soon as the thrusting stopped, he deep throated Kiba once again and made sure to get every last drop of his cum into his mouth.

He pulled back from Kiba's slowly dying erection. Kiba's cum was dripping from his mouth and he used his fingers to wipe it off and then sucked on the digits. He made sure that Kiba was watching him and then swallowed, his Adam's apple visibly going up and down. It was so erotic. Kiba couldn't believe Naruto just did that.

"You swallowed it." It was said more of as a fact than a question.

"It was delicious." Naruto cheerfully said. Kiba leaned closer and captured Naruto's lips. He slid his tongue inside and tasted himself. The taste was nothing he expected. It was bitter and had a certain tang on it but he liked it, even if it was his own. He wondered what Naruto's would taste like. Maybe his was more likable.

"It kind of sticks to your mouth and throat even if you already swallowed it." Naruto said.

"I'm quite curious as to how that would taste and feel like." Kiba smirked. "Besides, you're still hard Naruto. It won't be fair if only I got off and you won't."

"Don't worry about me Kiba. If you get me off then you'll surely just get hard again." Naruto reasoned.

"You got a point. But I want to try what you just did to me. It felt amazing and I want to give you the same pleasure you've given me." Kiba boldly cupped Naruto's erection and the blond jumped a bit at the touch. Kiba rubbed on it from the outside eliciting a gasp from Naruto.

"Hnn. I'm fi- fine Kiba. The river's cold. If we swim again, it will die down."

"You're right." Kiba agreed but was a bit disappointed not to be able to return the favor to Naruto. And so instead, he said his previous offer. "So, do you want to swim naked with me now?" he asked innocently. Naruto blushed but a smile formed on his lips.

"Yeah. I think that's a great idea." And so both boys were rid off their boxers and were swimming naked in the river. The sound of water splashing and their laughter echoed through the air. Finally they were together and both of them never felt as happy as they were now.

Though little did they know, from the river bank was Akamaru, on the ground covering his eyes with his paws and whimpering with fear. It looked like they forgot that Akamaru was with them and unintentionally watched their intimate moments earlier. Poor Akamaru.

...

A/N: And that was the confession. I hope you liked it. And that was the first M scene in this story. I also hoped that didn't turn off any followers. I did give my warning.

The title's inspiration was taken from Paulo Coelho's novel, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept.


	12. Something I Have To Tell You

Warning: Contains graphic M scene. Read at your own risk.

Chapter 12

**Something I Have To Tell You**

"Aahh! Kiba! So good!" Naruto moaned out loudly as he laid on the riverbank, with Kiba zealously sucking him off. After their skinny dipping in the river, neither of them had the power to control their bodies' reaction. Naruto's option of letting the cold take care of his hard-on didn't play out well. The opposite only happened. Playing in the water with your naked boyfriend was sure to excite a person more thus leaving both of them with rock hard erections. Though Naruto insisted to Kiba that he would just will it away, Kiba had convinced him that he also wanted to get him off like Naruto did to him earlier. Kiba has experienced it and he knew how good it felt and he wanted his lover to experience it as well. And also, Kiba wanted to see how much he could make Naruto squirm under him and hear him moan out his name as he sucked him dry.

"I'm close." Naruto cried softly. Kiba just continued to suck harder and bobbed his head up and down more heatedly at hearing this. Naruto was already thrusting his hips up to get as much friction that will bring him to his release. But Kiba grabbed Naruto's hips and secured it to the ground. He may want to put his lover's dick inside his mouth but it didn't mean he was a fan of getting fucked in his mouth unlike Naruto earlier. He wanted to do all the work. He wanted all the credit. He wanted Naruto to know that he was the one who made the blond feel so good.

"Kiba I'm cumming! Ahh, KIBAAA!" Naruto's load shot up to Kiba who had just retreated his mouth from the blond's shaft, only getting the first burst directly inside his mouth. The bursts of cum splattered all over the brunet's face and chest as he continued to pump Naruto with his left hand, simultaneously as he touched himself with his right. Soon enough, Kiba couldn't hold himself anymore and with a scream of his lover's name, he released his seed on the writhing blond under him, painting him on his torso and as far as his face.

Kiba collapsed beside Naruto, his vision still in a daze from the aftereffects of his orgasm. He was panting heavily, taking in quick shallow breaths the same as his lover beside him. He turned to look at Naruto to find him looking at him too.

"Kiba that was just… amazing." The blond couldn't think of any other words to describe his experience. "I never thought you'd actually give me head." The brunet chuckled at his statement.

"It was my pleasure. Seeing you writhe under me and moan my name like that was definitely worth it."

Naruto didn't say anything after that. He seemed to think about something so Kiba just waited. What just happened earlier, he still couldn't believe that it really did happen. Moments ago they were just friends, but now he can proudly call Naruto his 'boyfriend'.

"Kiba." the blond called to him, snapping him out of his own thoughts. "Is this real? This really happened, right? It's not a dream? Because if it is then I don't wanna wake up."

Kiba could see the fear in Naruto's deep blue eyes. So just like Kiba, he was also having his own doubts about what just happened between them, but Kiba knew it was real. Because if it was a dream, then Kiba would have woken up just before he got his release like in many of his other not-so-wet dreams about the blond.

"It's real alright. I'm right here beside you. It's not a dream. I like you Naruto." Kiba assured him and leaned in to kiss him on the lips. Both closed their eyes at the contact. It was a chaste kiss, something that made both of them feel at ease.

"I like you too Kiba. Very much."

Naruto propped up on his elbows and crawled on all fours on top of Kiba and smiled down at him. Kiba was sure that the smile was something perverted and he had a very good idea of what Naruto was about to do.

"Hey, you better think twice of what you're about to do Naruto. We'll just get hard and then we'll have to get each other off again." Kiba reminded him. Naruto just chuckled.

"I don't really mind." Naruto chuckled.

"I didn't think that you could be this bold when it comes to doing things like this. Where's the Naruto who always blushes and gets shy whenever I drop hints that I like him?" Naruto smirked at what Kiba said as he dived down in the brunet's chest to lap up his own cum that landed on it.

"Naruto that's your own cum." Kiba pointed out.

"It's okay. It's not like I haven't tasted it before. And besides, you said you wanted to taste me a while ago. But you withdrew you mouth so most of my cum hit you on your body instead." Naruto explained.

"So what do you plan to do?" Kiba asked curiously. Naruto had finished licking up his cum on Kiba and then went down lower to swallow Kiba's limp dick and then sucked up the remaining load that dripped from it. A moan escaped from the brunet's mouth at Naruto's action.

"Naruto please you have to stop." he begged. If the blond continued any further, then they would have no choice but to repeat what they just did earlier.

Naruto looked up to Kiba and gave him a smile. He withdrew his mouth from Kiba's dick and leaned towards the brunet's face, capturing him in a kiss. Kiba opened his mouth at contact and next thing he knew, Naruto's tongue was plunging inside his mouth and the blond's cum that was just collected was being transferred to it. Naruto pulled back for a short while to lap up the cum that hit Kiba's face, making sure to lick it clean. They made out passionately once he was done, Kiba trying his best to get used to the taste of his lover's white release that was mixed with a little bit of his own and bringing up courage, he swallowed as Naruto watched him.

He was really surprised at the taste and the texture. He couldn't describe it at the moment but all he could say was that it was bitter but somehow, he liked it. Naruto was right when he said that it stuck to your mouth and throat. Though he produced more saliva so he could swallow all of it down, some of it stubbornly remained in his mouth. Coke looked really enticing to him right now.

From being on all fours on top of Kiba, Naruto then turned to straddle him above his stomach, making sure to stay away from Kiba's dick so as not to arouse it. But now it was Naruto's own limp dick and balls that were resting on top of Kiba's chest.

"Now it's time I gave you a show." Naruto then used his finger to collect Kiba's cum that landed on his own body. his stomach, his chest and on his face. He made sure to get every single bit and then one by one, sucked his fingers dry of the cum he just gathered.

"I'm so blaming you if I get hard again Naruto." Kiba said. Naruto just laughed, still enjoying sucking on his fingers that were coated with his lover's cum. When he was done, he returned to his position and laid on his side, facing Kiba. The brunet turned to his side as well and wrapped an arm around Naruto.

"You know, I really thought you were straight Kiba, that's why I didn't think you were serious about those comments you usually make. I thought I was doomed to like someone who wouldn't be able to like me back. I've liked you since the first day I saw you." Naruto admitted.

"Well, I've liked you since the first day too." Kiba said.

"Really?" Naruto asked as if he couldn't believe it.

"Yeah."

"So are you gay too?" he asked innocently.

"Technically, I'm bisexual. But for now, I'm gay only for you." Kiba smirked.

"Oh. Well I'm gay. And I've only had my eyes on you since the start of the school year." Well it was true. Naruto only truly liked Kiba. The thing he had with Sasuke, it was different.

"Yeah me too. I haven't thought about any girls or guys besides you. You know, I really did my best to indirectly tell you that I like you but you couldn't take the hints. I got tired of waiting for you to figure it out on your own so today I summoned up the courage to tell you. That's why I brought you here. I wanted it to be special." Kiba said.

"That's so sweet Kiba. If I had known you liked me all along then we could have saved many awkward moments between us, especially those when I trained with you in the gym and whenever we change in the locker rooms."

"Well aren't you happy that it took a longer amount of time before we became boyfriends? We wouldn't have time to figure out our real feelings for each other if we didn't become friends first. But since we did, our bond is a whole lot stronger and not something you can just rip away."

"If you put it that way, then I guess I'm happy. Even just as best friends, I would have been very happy that I got to spend my time with you. But of course I also wanted us to be more."

"And now we are." Kiba leaned closer again and gave another kiss which the blond responded to eagerly.

"I don't think I can get enough of you. It's like I want to kiss you all day even if my lips get bruised up." Kiba said.

"Don't worry. We have lots of time now."

"It's just that I've wanted to do this with you for so long and now that I finally can, I just can't help but relish it."

They continued to make out with each other, lying on the sand of the riverbank. They didn't even notice that they once again gotten hard if not for the fact that they got too close and their erections rubbed against each other and sent bolts of pleasure up their spines.

"I told you we'd only get hard again." Kiba said. Naruto just laughed. Both of them were thinking about what to do next but it seemed the heavens have something planned for them. Drops of rain started to fall down on them and both immediately felt its coolness. It was still only a drizzle but they could both smell the scent of the earth as it got wet.

"Do you want to stay and bathe under the rain?" Kiba asked.

"I think I want to go back to your house and eat some warm ramen." replied Naruto.

"Well we better hurry up or else our things will get wet once the rain gets stronger. And hopefully it will give us enough distraction to calm our bodies down."

"Well it could if we put on our clothes." Naruto giggled.

"Yeah good idea." Kiba agreed.

...

The rain grew stronger but not before Kiba and Naruto made their way back into the main house. A nice warm shower was what both were yearning for and despite Naruto's plea for them to take one together, Kiba said that they've done one too many moments of intimacy. He let a pouting Naruto take the shower in the bathroom downstairs. But before taking one for himself, he checked if Akamaru will need one and seeing that he wasn't too muddy, he just got a towel and dried the white dog off.

Kiba then went upstairs to his own room and used the shower there. Though what he wanted was to bask under the warm water for a long period of time, what he really yearned more for was to be with Naruto as soon as possible. So after just 10 minutes, he was done. After drying himself, he put on loose shorts and a grey fitting shirt that showed off his lean curves. When he returned back downstairs, he could hear that Naruto was still in the shower. Well that will only give him enough time to prepare.

He took some cup ramen from the grocery that he had Hana buy the day before. Of course he was prepared and ramen was not something he would just forget. Not when it was the staple food of his new boyfriend. He poured hot water from the thermos into both cups. In five minutes they should be ready and Naruto would have finished his shower. While waiting for both the food and his boyfriend, he set up the TV and DVD player, also gathering up some of their collections. Once Naruto was done, he can pick a movie and they can watch it together while they eat the hot ramen, all in the middle of the cold and heavy downpour. It was perfect.

"Hmmmm, that smells good. Kiba is that what I think it is?" Naruto who just came out from the bathroom asked with eagerness.

"Yup. So you better hurry up here if you don't want to eat it cold." the blond heard Kiba shout from the living room. Naruto came running towards the direction of the smell and sat beside Kiba on the couch. Kiba thought that Naruto would immediately plunge into the ramen but Naruto was looking at him like there was something he wanted to ask.

"What is it Naruto?" he asked, tilting his head in one side.

"May I kiss you?" Naruto muttered shyly. A complete opposite on how he acted just half an hour ago.

"Of course. You know you don't have to ask me. It kinda ruins the mood." Kiba replied. They leaned closer to each other and kissed. When they pulled back, Kiba could very well see the red tinges on Naruto's face. He thought he would have been used to it by now but it seemed he was wrong. Still, Naruto did look cuter when he blushes so he wasn't complaining.

"We're going to watch a movie. See anything you like?" Kiba pointed to the DVDs on the small table that was beside their cups of ramen. Naruto took hold of his cup and first sipped a good amount of the warm soup.

"Ahhh, that was just delicious. Hot soup when it's raining outside. The perfect time to eat ramen." Naruto said and then he shuffled the DVDs to try and find something he wanted to watch. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Twilight, Star Wars, Frozen, there were just too many to choose from.

"Hey Kiba. You wouldn't happen to be the one who watches the Twilight Saga, would you?" Naruto asked in a teasing manner.

"What? Of course not. They're Hana's DVDs. I happen to watch action movies."

"You know, Taylor Lautner and his character Jacob Black remind me of you. Washboard abs, huge biceps, tan, dogs, and tribal stuffs." Kiba gave a shocked look.

"You wouldn't happen to replace me with him would you?" Kiba said in a faked worried tone.

"Of course not. You're hotter and I don't happen to like people who are a lot older than me." Naruto said.

"Yeah, me too I guess."

"So what do we watch? I don't know which one to pick. There's just too many." Naruto gave Kiba the DVDs.

"Are you a fan of Star Wars?" Kiba suggested.

"That's okay. Return of the Jedi then?"

"Why the last episode?" Kiba asked curiously, squinting his eyes a bit.

"I just like that one." Naruto smiled.

"You're not choosing Episode VI just because you want to see Princess Leia in a bikini are you?" Kiba said in an accusing tone.

"Of course not!" Naruto quickly replied. "Come on Kiba. I'm gay. Female attractiveness for me is zero. And come to think of it, Carrie Fisher's not as sexy as she used to be. I wonder how she's going to play the Princess Leia part in Episode VII when she's fat."

"That's really mean Naruto." Kiba couldn't believe Naruto just said that.

"I'm just pointing out some facts here. I don't mean anything bad." the blond said defensively.

"Then if you don't find anyone hot in Episode VI, why don't we just watch Episode III. I'm sure gay guys like you find Hayden Christensen hot." Kiba teased.

"Well he is but why are you even saying stuff like this? Shouldn't you want me to find only you hot?"

"You're already mine now so what do I have to fear?"

"You're right. You don't have anything to fear. I like only you Kiba."

"And I like only you Naruto."

"Okay now pop in the 6th episode already. My ramen's getting cold." Kiba inserted the disc for Return of the Jedi and returned to sit beside Naruto. Five minutes into the film, Naruto's ramen was already finished. Kiba picked up his pace too and two minutes later was also done. He went to the kitchen and searched the cupboards for some snacks and he got juice from the fridge.

When Kiba returned with the snacks and drink, he sat on Naruto's left. The blond lifted up his legs and placed them on the couch, knees bent. He moved closer towards Kiba and then leaned on his shoulder. Kiba wasn't surprised because he was hoping for the blond to do just that.

"I really want to do this with you. In all the time we watched movies together at your dorm, it's hard to believe that I've held myself for so long." the blond said softly, nudging his cheek closer to the brunet's neck.

"Well now you can do it every time we watch movies together." Kiba moved his right hand up and placed it on the top of Naruto's head, softly massaging his scalp and combing his golden locks.

"That feels really relaxing Kiba. If you continue that I might fall asleep on you." Naruto whispered.

"I'm sure I can think of ways to keep you awake." Kiba smirked. He brought his nose closer to the blond's hair and inhaled its scent.

"Your hair smells so nice. What shampoo did you use?"

"I don't know. I just picked randomly." Naruto shrugged.

"Maybe it's Hana's shampoo. Or Akamaru's."

"Akamaru's?! You place your dog's shampoo in your bathroom?!" Naruto sat up from his very comfortable position beside Kiba, panicking just because there was a chance he used a dog's shampoo.

"Of course. Akamaru's family so we bathe him inside the bathroom. And what are you looking so scared about?" Kiba was trying hard to hold back his laugh.

"What if I used the dog's shampoo?" Naruto said with an unreasonable amount of worry.

"Do you think I wouldn't have noticed that? I just told you that your hair smells good. And Akamaru's shampoo is stored inside the cabinet." That seemed to calm Naruto down.

"Gah, never mind." Naruto was about to return to his former position but decided that Kiba's lap looked like a more enticing place to put his head on. He laid on his side, head on the brunet's lap and his legs stretched out, the couch just enough to accommodate its length.

Halfway through the film was when Naruto asked Kiba a question, breaking the long silence between them that they've achieve once they focused on watching the film instead of teasing each other.

"Hey Kiba." Naruto called. He was still lying on the brunet's lap, seemingly able to watch the TV sideways. How he managed to do that was something that Kiba couldn't quite put a finger on.

"Yeah?" Kiba who was fighting in and out of the realms of sleep was awoken, his drowsiness vanishing.

"You told me earlier that you're bi. How did you know that?" Naruto asked.

"I thought I was straight until about two years ago because I've had my crushes on a few girls before." Kiba said and was about to tell Naruto about his former crush on Hinata and how he asked her to be his girlfriend but decided it wasn't the right time to tell Naruto. "But something happened that changed that."

"I wonder what that is. Care to share?"

"I don't know. It's kind of embarrassing." Kiba said, fidgeting in his seat. This shook Naruto's head a little so the blond sat up and resumed his earlier position of leaning on Kiba's shoulder.

"I'm your boyfriend Kiba. And before that I was your best friend. You can tell me anything and I won't laugh at whatever it is." Naruto promised, looking at Kiba straight in the eyes. The brunet sighed, mustering up his courage.

"I was in ninth grade and Hana forgot to lock the door to her room. I was curious on what she kept in there because at night I could hear her giggling for hours. So I looked around and then I stumbled upon something on her desk." Kiba stopped, his face blushing like crazy. "This is so embarrassing."

"Don't worry Kiba. I think I have a clue as to what you stumbled upon in her room." the blond gave a knowing look.

"Hmm. What do you think it is?" Kiba asked, apparently believing that is was impossible for Naruto to guess what it was but was curious as to what he will say.

"It was a yaoi manga, wasn't it?" Kiba could already see Naruto stifling his laugh.

"How did you..?" Kiba's face turned into a deeper shade of red, hiding the triangle tattoos on it. Naruto chuckled at his victory.

"Hah I knew it. So what did you do? You read it?"

"I don't know what came over me. I saw two guys kissing on the cover and I immediately knew it was a gay manga but somehow my hand reached for it and I flipped open the book. Then I read it and I was surprised that I wasn't exactly disturbed by the images and that I liked the story. So I read the whole volume and next thing I knew I've read all of Hana's yaoi mangas that were on her desk."

"Hahaha. I have to thank Hana for forgetting to lock her door. Although, do you have any regrets about reading those mangas? I mean if you haven't read them, you'd probably still be straight… and normal." Naruto's tone turned kind of depressing.

"Of course not. If I haven't read those then I probably wouldn't have turned bi and then I wouldn't have liked you. We could still have been friends though. But what we have now is something I will not trade for. Don't think being gay or bi is not normal. It's only normal to be attracted and to love someone and it doesn't matter what gender they are."

"Yeah but not all people think that." the blond said sadly.

"But I don't care what people think. They can just go fuck themselves for all I care." Kiba said confidently.

"Thanks Kiba, for saying those things. It makes me feel a lot better." Naruto buried himself in Kiba's chest and hugged him tightly, enjoying the warmth that was radiating from his body. They just stayed that way for a few more minutes. The TV kept playing and the voices of the characters could still be heard but both of them only felt each other's presence. Taking the remote, Kiba turned off the TV knowing that it would be best to save energy.

"Kiba. There's something I have to tell you." Kiba's looked at the blond who again sat back up on the couch and was looking at him in a serious way. "Please don't get mad at me. And I'm sorry for not being entirely truthful to you about Sasuke."

"I won't get mad at you. I promise I'll hear you first. Just tell me what it is about Sasuke." Kiba assured him. This was it. He was finally going to know what truly was happening between Naruto and that bastard. What he overheard, Naruto will finally shine light on it.

"Sasuke likes me too." Naruto looked down as he told him then cautiously looked back again at Kiba to see his reaction. Would he be mad? Jealous? Freak out? No, he didn't do any of those much to Naruto's relief. He just looked as ready to listen as he was before.

"But I don't like him that way. And I've said it to him many times. He's always asking me to be his boyfriend but I always reject him. He knows that you're the one I like but he's insistent that he can make me like him back the same way as I like you." Kiba nodded at whatever Naruto was telling him, indicating that he was listening.

"Aren't you even a little shocked about this? I mean I'm telling you that Sasuke likes me too. That means he's gay. You should be saying 'What? Sasuke likes you? Homophobic bastard? Please Naruto, what kind of joke are you pulling off?' Or are you just slow and didn't figure that out?" Naruto had to ask cause he couldn't really understand why Kiba was not yet flipping.

"I'm not surprised. To tell you the truth, I know that Sasuke likes you too. I haven't noticed it before but your brother told me at the party that I should be more wary of Sasuke because he thought that the Uchiha likes you too. So the week after your birthday, I started to watch him more intently, the way he looks and acts around you and that's how I knew." Kiba explained.

"Oh. Is that so? Kurama-niisan can surely read people like a book. To think that he knew Sasuke likes me just by seeing him on my birthday. And wait a minute. If he knew about Sasuke, then does he know that you like me too?"

"Yeah he does. In fact he's the one who encouraged me to confess already because he was getting annoyed about how you would always talk to him about me. Even if you didn't tell him directly that you like me, he suspected it." Kiba told him.

"Hey that's not fair. You already knew that I like you. No wonder you were so confident." Naruto said in an accusing tone.

"Come on. I knew you like me way before I even talked with your brother. You're kind of bad in hiding it from me. The way you're shy when we're in the locker room, the way you blush when I'm too close to you and how your arms tremble when I spot for you in the gym." Kiba enumerated.

"Oh. I guess you're right." the blond said, scratching his head.

"So, did anything happen between you and Sasuke that you want to tell me?" Naruto looked like he was having trouble on deciding what to do next. Should he tell him or shouldn't he? Taking a deep breath, he readied himself for something he must do.

"Sasuke kissed me. And not just once." Naruto watched Kiba's reaction. That one should have made him furious and saying stuff like 'I'm going to kill that hypocritic bastard! Who does he think he is to have the right to kiss you?' but none of that happened. It really confused Naruto but he thought it would be best not to ponder on this further and just continue on what he was telling Kiba.

"I don't know why but I kind of just let him do it. It first happened during Monday at Math period, the week before my birthday. Remember when I took too long in the restroom?" Naruto reminded him. Kiba just nodded. "He went up to me and said that he likes me and that he's gay. I didn't believe him because you told me how homophobic he was. And when I tried to get out of the restroom he grabbed me and next thing I knew his lips were against mine. Please don't get mad at me. I swear I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Stop panicking and explaining the situation like you cheated on me or something Naruto. We weren't together during that time and I can't get mad at you for being kissed by another person. And it's fine that you didn't tell about it to me before. I mean you thought I was straight right? I don't blame you that you were scared about telling me because you thought I might hate you because you're gay. Just, don't let him kiss you anymore huh?" Kiba asked of him.

"But that's what I'm worried about. He will try to do it again and if I refuse, it will not take Sasuke long before he notices that there's something going on between us and then he'll find out that we're boyfriends." Naruto said nervously.

"But there's nothing he can do about it right? He likes you too so that means he won't hurt you." Kiba said.

"But what if he gets mad at you and then hurt you? He's better than me at Karate remember? You wouldn't even stand a chance." Naruto pointed out.

"Now that you mention it… but I have you here with me. There're two of us so I think we can take him down if he ever wants to fight. I may be no Karate expert but my punches are stronger and if you distract him, I can land a solid hit." Kiba chuckled, not a single hint of worry on him.

"I'm serious Kiba. I'm really worried at what he might do. And what about school? Are we going to hide our relationship or not?" the blond asked.

"I think it will be best to stay low for a while. If we came out then Sasuke will know. His other friends will know and then tell him. They'll probably expect him to start a fight with us because he supposedly hates gay people. And since he's too afraid to come out himself, he'll probably try and beat us up just so he can prove he's not gay."

"Will we tell our friends?"

"I don't mind. They'll notice it in no time anyway." Kiba shrugged.

"Do they know that your bi?"

"Yeah they do. And they know I like you too so it won't be a shock to them if we ever got together. They were actually thinking I've been taking way too long to ask you out."

"That makes me feel a lot better."

"I say we don't think about school for now and maybe just cuddle on the couch." Kiba suggested.

"I'd like that." Naruto nodded.

Naruto laid down on the couch and stretched his body. Kiba positioned himself behind Naruto, near the backseat of the couch and spooned him. He wrapped one arm over the blond and Naruto held onto it. Not too long, the blond was already sleeping and Kiba decided that he might as well sleep. He gave a light kiss on the top of Naruto's head before he buried his face on the blond's neck, shut his eyes and then fell asleep, knowing that even in his dreams, he would still be thinking of his boyfriend.

A/N:

When I rewrote this chapter I couldn't help but smile when I saw the lines regarding Star Wars. This chapter was originally written over a year ago and now, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is already showing. That film really made me damn excited ever since its announcement. I watched it last December 16, an advanced screening and it left me in awe. I'm going to rewatch it again on the big screen.

Leave a review.


	13. My Boyfriend

Chapter 13

**My Boyfriend**

"I'll see you tomorrow Naruto."

"Yeah. See you Kiba." Naruto said back. As he headed for the door, backpack on his shoulders and fox cage on his right hand, Kiba pulled his arm.

"You forgot something." The brunet gave him a small kiss on the lips, causing him to blush. He still wasn't used to it even though they've kissed for like more than a hundred times the past two days. After that, the blond turned again only to be pulled by the brunet once more.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, sounding a little irritated. Kiba just chuckled at his reaction.

"I told you that you forgot something and it was'nt only the kiss. Your bike is still on the back of the truck." Kiba pointed to it. "Don't worry I'll carry it for you. Just ask someone to open the garage."

"Thanks Kiba. You're the best." Naruto smiled.

"Only for my Naruto." Kiba smirked.

"Yo Naruto welcome back. How was your trip?" Yahiko asked as he came out of the door and walked towards them.

"It's not a trip. I just stayed over at Kiba's place." the blond replied.

"Well whatever it is, I guess some things have happened 'cause Kiba here was kissing you on your lips when I looked out the window." Yahiko said casually, though the smirk from his face obvious. "Talk about PDA. So, you guys finally hooked up huh?" he asked, looking at Kiba.

"Uhm, yeah." Kiba put a hand on the back of his neck and rubbed on it nervously, chuckling low. He thought that only Konan and Kurama knew about his liking to Naruto. It looked like he was wrong. Or maybe Yahiko just knew Naruto liked him.

"Well my sincerest congratulations. I'm sure Konan would be ecstatic to know and that she'll probably bring out a camera and ask you to kiss in front of it." Yahiko told them.

"Like hell we're going to do that for her!" Naruto shouted in surprise.

"Calm down little cuz. I'm just warning you. It's a good thing she's out shopping for groceries with Jiraiya and Nagato. Anyway, Kiba just follow me. I'll open the garage for you."

"Ok." Kiba nodded and then turned towards Naruto. "See you at school. And don't forget about our Trigonometry exam tomorrow." the brunet reminded his boyfriend.

"Ah! I can't believe I forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me. Well, you should practice your flute too. Tayuya's not going to be happy if you still can't play up to C6." Naruto also reminded him.

"Remind me again why I have to study under her when I can just have you teach me."

"Because she's a good teacher, actually makes her students play." the blond responded.

"Yeah but her vocabulary can leave many people scarred for life. She says derogatory words like they're words of endearment. I think a student changed instruments because of her."

"Then good luck with that Kiba. I'm gonna go inside. I'm really so sleep right now. We can chat later tonight. Call me. Now go get that bike 'cause Yahiko-niisan's not going to be waiting forever." Naruto motioned to the garage and both found Yahiko with his arms crossed on his chest and foot slapping on the ground repeatedly.

"Yes sir."

...

After putting his stuff beside his bed, Naruto let himself fall on it. His fox Kyuubi jumped on him and snuggled near his chest. Naruto rolled over and gave his pet some TLC, combing its fur and scratching its belly. The small fox gave a cute sounding coo and not long after drifted to sleep. It really was like a dog instead of a wild animal. Those Russians are good.

Beep beep.

Naruto heard his phone ring and felt it vibrate on his pocket. Not being able to get it out while lying on the bed, he stood up and took it out. At the third ring, he managed to answer it only to be greeted by the very loud voice of his brother.

"Congratulations baby brother! Kiba just told me the news." Naruto immediately pulled the phone away from his ear, not wanting to risk any chances of getting deaf.

"Gah, you're too loud Kurama-niisan. And what news?" Naruto asked innocently. It couldn't possibly be about 'that'.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know you've already hooked up with dog boy."

'Kiba told him? But he said to me that we were supposed to keep it a secret.' Naruto thought. 'Could niisan be tricking me?'

"Why would Kiba tell you something like that? And as you know, Kiba's just my bestfriend." Naruto managed to say in a calm voice, doing his best not to slip up in case Kurama was just messing with him.

"Because I asked him dum-dum. So don't deny it anymore baby brother. Kiba would be very unhappy if you do. And don't hung up on me." Kurama ordered.

'Damn.' Kurama was just too clever. Naruto couldn't deny something like that. Even if he didn't want his brother to know yet, it looked like he had no choice. If he denied it, Kurama would tell Kiba and then Kiba would be hurt that Naruto was denying their relationship.

"Okay, okay. We're boyfriends." the blond finally admitted.

"Well as I said earlier, congratulations. It took him way too long to ask you out. But at least he did."

"Yeah. But I can't believe you told him that I like him."

"Doesn't matter now if I did or didn't. What does is you're finally with him and you can quit bombarding me on the phone with 'Kiba this, Kiba that'." Kurama said, reminding Naruto about their long phone calls. "So, what activities have you two done? Staying at his place for two days, you probably haven't been able to keep your hands off each other. Is my baby brother still a virgin?" his brother asked with an evil chuckle.

Naruto blushed at Kurama's question. How could he ask something like that to his younger brother?

"Eew. Why are you even asking about things like that? And for your information, I'm still a virgin." Naruto paused a bit after saying that. Was he really still a virgin after what they did? They're both guys so how do two guys lose virginity to each other? Those two question suddenly plagued his mind. "And what do you think mom will do to you if she heard you saying things like that?" Yes, he couldn't believe Kurama would say something like that. But then again, come on, he's Kurama. Naruto should know better.

"Don't mind her. And besides, I fucked my first girlfriend when I was fourteen so I don't think that's even younger than you are now." Kurama informed, speaking in a way that made it sound as if it was every day conversation.

"Too much information! I don't need you to tell me about your sex life. And wait, you had sex when you were FOURTEEN?! Do mom and dad know that?" Naruto asked in shock. He knew his brother wasn't the typical good kid but fourteen years old. It was still kind of hard to believe.

"Of course they do. They weren't even surprised. It's not like they didn't know something like that was going to happen." Kurama said, his tone implying that he was even proud of it. "Come on, I mean what else would you expect from me? Chicks are lining up just to get one night with me. And guys too. They're really feisty in…"

"Gahh! Don't say anymore niisan." Naruto pleaded. He didn't want his innocent mind to be corrupted by his brother. Well that was if you could still say that his mind was innocent.

"Okay. Calm down Naruto. You always react way too much. Well I just wanted to check up on you. And also to remind you to always use protection, you know, if you ever…"

Long beep.

"He hung up on me." Kurama said to himself.

Naruto was clearly annoyed by his brother. He always liked teasing him. Even reminding him of condoms in case he and Kiba ever had sex. The thought made Naruto shudder. Well, it wasn't as if he didn't want to have sex with Kiba. All his wet dreams about the brunet can attest to that. But maybe not this early. For Pete's sake, they've already sucked each other off and made out and cuddled in bed. The idea of them having sex already wasn't farfetched. But no. Even if Naruto did want it, he's willing to wait. Being with Kiba was enough for him for this time. Though maybe a few blowjobs every now and then sounded nice.

Naruto's thoughts immediately drifted off to when Kiba and he were both naked at the riverbank. He moved his hand down to his crotch, finding his cock unsurprisingly hard already.

"I need to take a shower. A cold one." he said to himself.

His attention turned back to his phone and he looked at the notification window and found that there were 3 missed calls and 2 text messages. The missed calls were surprisingly from Sasuke. All were made on Saturday. He was so busy having fun at Kiba's that he forgot to check his phone during the time he spent there. And it was possible because he really wasn't a fan of using his phone for games or social apps. Plus, his attention was fully occupied by Kiba.

He scrolled over the inbox and found that the latest message was from Kurama. He opened it only to find that he shouldn't have.

**_Hey congrats again baby brother. And as I said, always use protection. There's a box of condoms in your drawer at the most bottom one. It's placed on the farthest and left most side covered by your clothes. And there's also a bottle of lube there. Don't take it dry._**

**_Love, your big brother._**

His cheeks turned red, mostly because of the implication his brother made that he was the one to bottom.

'I hate him sometimes but still, I'm thankful that he's my brother. No one is as loving and supportive as him.' Naruto thought. He then opened the unread message from Sasuke.

**_Hey Naruto. About yesterday, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said things about Kiba like that. I know that he's the one you like but I really like you Naruto. I know I shouldn't ask this from a text message but I want to ask just one date from you, just one. If you really think that we're not going to work, I'll stop bothering you. But as long as I haven't tried everything, I can't just sit here and do nothing._**

**_November 2, 2014 2:35 PM_**

'Damn it. What should I do? Should I reply to him now or maybe tell Kiba about it first. Maybe I can just reply to him at school. No, I should tell Kiba first. He already knows the situation with Sasuke so he'll understand.'

Naruto locked his phone and removed his pants. He really needed to sleep thanks to staying up until 1 AM last night playing games and some 'other' things. His body definitely needed the rest. Carefully he took the sleeping Kyuubi into his arms and laid him on his own small bed, hoping that he would not wake him up. He couldn't have Kyuubi sleep beside him in bed no matter how cute the little furball was. He might accidentally squash the poor little thing in his sleep.

...

It was already late afternoon when Naruto woke up. Nobody even bothered to wake him up for lunch or maybe someone did but he was just too deep in sleep that he didn't hear anything. He didn't mind though because he really needed the recharge. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He already took a shower before they left Kiba's place so he was good. He just put on a sleeveless orange tee and loose shorts. Then he went downstairs to prepare himself a cup of ramen. He still had some matters to solve and postponing it any further would only make things worse.

When the boiling water was poured into the cup, he covered it and brought it upstairs. He placed it on the nightstand to let it cook and pulled out his phone and dialed Kiba's number. After the 2nd ring, it was picked up.

"Naruto?" he heard Kiba's all familiar voice.

"Hey Kiba." the blond greeted.

"Hey. What's up? You've already slept enough?" Kiba asked, his voice sweet with concern.

"Since it's already 5 o'clock I think that's already enough sleep."

"That's good. So again, what's up?"

"Does something really have to be up for me to call my boyfriend? Maybe I just want to hear his voice." Naruto retorted.

"That's sweet. Honestly, I'm kind of missing you already. I just woke up an hour ago and I'm actually playing the flute when you called me."

"So you're practicing? Well that's nice to hear. Tayuya will be happy, if she ever is?" Both of them laughed at Naruto's comment.

"I think I can impress her a little." Kiba said, sounding confident.

"But you have to impress me first. Why don't you play over the phone? I want to hear you." Naruto requested.

"Since you always play for me with the guitar I guess I can. Just don't laugh if it doesn't sound as good as yours."

"Don't worry. I'm here so I can tell you where you have to practice more on. Now play."

"Ok."

Naruto heard the flute playing. Unlike the first time Kiba tried playing the flute, this time he was able to produce the real sound and not just some blast of air. Naruto immediately recognized the tune Kiba was playing. It was Lullaby by Brahms, a piece for beginners. The fingerings were simple and the tempo easy to catch onto. Kiba sure did his homework.

"Wow. That was beautiful Kiba. Definitely an improvement since Tayuya shouted those obscene language at you." Naruto laughed.

"You don't have to remind me of that. And you know, since I've been doing my homework, what about you? Have you studied for the Trigo exam tomorrow?"

"Oh about that. I haven't yet but I just woke up you know." Naruto reminded Kiba.

"Ah yeah. I forgot about that fact. Well then, study for me later."

"I… of course I will." Naruto has only studied to pass before but not yet because of doing it for someone. Someone like Kiba, his boyfriend. When it was for Kiba, he didn't need any more reason to do it.

"Remember. After our talk, you're going straight to that study table, get your book and do the Math, literally." Kiba ordered him.

"Okay, okay. I already told you that I'll study."

"Hehe." Kiba chuckled. "You sound cute when you're like that. So, is there anything else you want to talk about?" The question made Naruto remember the reason he called Kiba. Naruto was battling inside whether to talk about it now or just have it for tomorrow. But if he postpones it for tomorrow then he would just end up awake in bed thinking about it. He needed to tell him now.

"Kiba, there's actually a reason I called you other than to chat. Sasuke sent me a message." he informed him.

"A message? What did he say?"

"He said he wants to go on a date with me."

"WHAT?" Kiba shouted through the phone.

"Hey don't freak out. I've already told you about Sasuke, right?" Naruto reminded him.

"Yeah I know. I'm just surprised."

"So what should I do about it?"

"Well of course you have to reject it. You're already dating me."

"I know that captain obvious. But do you really think Sasuke will stop at that? Unless he knows you and I are dating, he won't stop on asking me out." Naruto explained.

"No you can't tell him about us. It's too dangerous."

"That's what I thought too. Whether he's my friend or not, he may not like it if he learns that I chose you instead of him. But I've already told him many times that we can't go more than being friends. I just got this bad feeling that if Sasuke learns about us, he might do something really, really bad even if he's my friend."

"Just do your best to keep it secret from him."

"Ok. I kind of feel better now that I've told you. So I suppose I should go studying and my ramen's getting cold." the blond remembered as his eyes stumbled upon the ramen cup.

"You really should eat better food Naruto. It's not like you can't afford some delicious meat you know." Kiba said in a caring tone.

"Thanks for worrying about me but it's just so hard to stay away from the best food in the world."

"You know, I should take you out on a date sometime, if only to have you eat other food than that."

"I'm looking forward to it Kiba. But aren't we supposed to lie low for now?"

"Yeah we are. But soon Naruto, I will ask you out on a date. Advanced good night Naru-chan." Naruto smiled at the endearment. So he thought of saying one too.

"Advanced good night to you too… Kibbles."

...

"That exam was so hard! It would be a miracle if I ever passed."

"It wasn't that hard Naruto. You did study for the exam didn't you?" Naruto nodded.

"Then you shouldn't worry. I'm sure you can pass it." Kiba assured him.

"I guess. But next time I'm studying at your dorm and you're going to teach me." Naruto said.

"Sure. As long as I get to spend time with you."

"So, we're going to tell our friends about us right?"

"Yeah. they'll be thrilled. Look, most of them are already at the table." Kiba said, pointing to them. It was positioned on a corner of the cafeteria so no one should be able to hear them if they don't speak too loud. And it was lunch so everyone's loud and will help to mask whatever it is they want to keep between the group.

The two got their lunch after waiting in line for 3 minutes and then sat at their table. No one in their group was aware of their new relationship yet, not even Shino who was Kba's 'better friend' and dormmate so they went on their business as if it was just an ordinary day. And that was until Kiba said he was going to announce something.

"Hey guys. There's something I want to tell you." All heads turned to him, their interest captured by Kiba. There was about 5 seconds of silence in between until Chouji went to ask what it was about.

"So, what do you want to tell us?" Chouji asked curiously. He even stopped on eating his large burger filled with crispy bacon and dripping with melted cheese for it.

"Uhm. You guys are so not going to believe this but I…" Five pair of eyes were looking at him intently and Kiba couldn't help but feel nervous. And then he turned and looked at Ino and it reminded him about some precautionary measures he should take.

"Ino, can you please not overreact?" Kiba requested.

"Why would I overreact Kiba?" Ino asked, narrowing her eyes at the brunet. And then it clicked on her. "Not unless…"

"Stop. I'll be the one to tell it. So just listen." Kiba once again looked at his friends to see if he had their attention. Taking a deep breath to ease his nervousness, he prepared himself for his revelation.

"Naruto and I are dating." he finally said as he wrapped an arm around the blond's shoulders. Naruto blushed due to this and suddenly found the cafeteria tiles interesting, unable to face his friends directly.

"EEEKKK…" Ino squealed as long and high-pitched as she could but Shikamaru who was sitting next to her used his hand to clamp her mouth. But it was too late. All heads in the cafeteria were now looking at them, curious as to why someone would squeal like that.

"This is so awkward." Kiba said to himself as he saw everyone who was looking at them. But it went as soon as it came. They returned to their business after finding nothing interesting at the source of the ear-breaking squeal. Shikamaru finally let go of Ino's mouth.

"You did not just put your hand on me Shikamaru!" Ino said in disbelief.

"I'm sorry Ino. I had too. If I didn't, who knows how much more attention you would have attracted."

"But that does not give you the right to put your hand on my mouth. You don't just do that to a girl." Ino stated.

"Che. It's not like I wanted to do it. It's troublesome to have people's attention on us." Shikamaru complainingly said.

On the background of Ino and Shikamaru's bickering, Shino remained as expressionless as he was, Chouji gave a smile and Hinata furiously blushed at Kiba's announcement. Her friend who used to ask her out was now dating a guy. It was really hard to believe.

"Congratulations to you guys. I can't believe Kiba finally asked you out." Chouji said. Hearing that, Naruto was reminded that all of them knew way before that Kiba likes him and he wanted to confirm it.

"Hey guys." Naruto spoke for the first time. "Is it really true that you know that Kiba likes me?"

"Yeah of course. We've known about it since the first day." Ino replied excitedly. "So how did Kiba confess to you Naruto?"

The question made both Naruto and Kiba blush as they looked at each other. The images of what happened at the riverbank flooded their mind. That was so gonna be kept a secret.

"It's our secret." the two of them replied at the same time. There was just no way they were telling them about that. It was just so embarrassing, especially for three straight guys to hear.

"Come on tell us." Ino persisted.

"Just let it go Ino. If they don't want to tell, they won't." said Shikamaru.

Naruto couldn't help but feel happy about this. His friends accepted him so welcomingly, even though he's gay. He was treated still as the same old Naruto. He really was thankful that he met Kiba and his friends.

"Ok Shikamaru." Ino finally submitted. "So Naruto, if Kiba and you are finally dating, then does that mean you're gay or are you also bi like Kiba?"

"I'm gay." Naruto admitted. He couldn't help but still feel shy about it. It wasn't every day a person comes out to their friends.

"I so knew it. And I so knew you're into Kiba. I think even Kiba knows you like him. I just don't get why it took him so long to finally ask you out." said Ino.

"I guess Kiba wanted to build our friendship first. I mean being in a relationship without a strong foundation might mean it will easily be broken." said Naruto.

"Yeah Naruto's right. I wanted to make sure what I feel for him is not just some infatuation." Kiba added.

"Well since you two finally got together, should we like celebrate or something?" Chouji asked. Celebrations meant there will be food, and he didn't want to pass on such a tasty opportunity.

"I think I want to be spending time alone with my Naruto later." Kiba said, once again wrapping an arm on Naruto but this time on his side and pulled him closer. Naruto blushed at the action and smiled at what Kiba said. 'my Naruto.' Yeah, he was Kiba's. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Aww you guys are so sweet. I wonder when I'll get to be with my dream guy." Ino said daydreamingly as she placed her chin on one hand with her elbow propped on the table. She wish.

...

After lunch, Naruto didn't have any classes left with Kiba. It was Tuesday so no gym or music class. Literature was the last class he had and that meant Sasuke's taking it with him. And therefore it was inevitable for him to not speak with him since they sat together. And not to mention that they had Kakashi as their teacher who was always late by at least 10 minutes and sometimes up to 25 minutes.

Naruto entered the room and saw Sasuke at their seat. He couldn't just take the other ones because others have reserved them already. So without much enthusiasm he sat next to his friend and hoped that the raven forgot about his text message last Saturday.

"Naruto." the blond heard him call. "I'm sorry about last Friday."

"It's okay Sasuke." Naruto said.

"So, have you read my text message?"

"I have." Naruto didn't add anymore. He didn't want to reply to the question that was written there. He didn't know what he should say.

"What would be your answer then?" Naruto was looking at his desk. He couldn't look at Sasuke right now. This really wasn't the time for this conversation.

"I'm sorry Sasuke. I can't go out on a date with you." he replied apologetically.

"I see." Sasuke said regretfully. "But still, I need a reason why."

"I..." Naruto turned to look at Sasuke. He wanted to say the real reason but a part of him was telling him not to. "I just can't. You're my friend Sasuke. I just don't see us becoming more."

"I guess I just couldn't compare to Inuzuka huh? Too bad." The raven said this without looking at Naruto. It was more of a thought said out loud than something to say to Naruto. Sasuke gave up trying to ask for a better explanation. He didn't want to do it while he was still in class. So he just took out his notebook and started writing on it. Naruto took out his phone and plugged in some earphones to pass time before Mr. Hatake arrives. He didn't also want to be speaking with Sasuke right now. There was too much awkward tension.

...

Time went by and the class finished. Kakashi arrived 20 minutes late so they didn't manage to do much. Naruto planned to get out of the room as soon as possible. He wanted to stay at Kiba's dorm, missing his boyfriend already. But a tug on his arm prevented him from doing so.

"Naruto, I want to know if you want to hang out with me tomorrow. No more requests for dates. Just plain friends hanging out. We haven't really been able to spend time together the past week. Usually you would go to the gym with Kiba or stay at his dorm. So maybe you can drop by tomorrow?" Sasuke asked with hope.

"I don't know Sasuke. I uh… I have to tell Kiba first." the blond replied. His voice was shaky and nervous, like he was hiding something. And Sasuke was not dumb. He could read Naruto easily. Well not that easily since he couldn't get it through that skull of his that Naruto doesn't want him as he does.

"Have you planned on doing something for tomorrow?" the raven asked. What should he say? He didn't have any plans for the next day and Sasuke was right. He was still his friend and he should spend time with him too.

"Not really. I think I can stay over at your place tomorrow. But I really have to go. I don't want to have my bo… to have Kiba waiting for me. Hehe. See you tomorrow Sasuke." Naruto jogged his way through the hallway, dodging the passing crowd with ease.

Sasuke just stared with shock at his retreating form.

'It couldn't be.' the raven thought.


	14. What I Wish

Chapter 14

**What I Wish I Never Have To See Nor Hear**

"Naruto, are you ready for some killer workout?" Kiba asked as Naruto ran towards him.

"Yeah." replied the blond, circumducting his right shoulder to show his enthusiasm.

"Ok let's go then." Kiba said with a smile. Naruto on the other hand was debating whether to tell Kiba about what Sasuke said to him just minutes ago. The two had already started walking and it wasn't until they were out of the school grounds that Naruto spoke up.

"Uhm Kiba."

"Yeah?" the brunet turned at the call of his name.

"Sasuke personally asked me to go out with him on a date but of course I turned him down."

"I can't say I feel sorry for him." the brunet smirked, no surprise in his reaction.

"But then he said that since we're still friends, we should hang out tomorrow because we, you and I, have been spending more time together and the last time Sasuke and I did something like that was when we went for Karate practice two weeks ago." Naruto explained.

Kiba had wanted to say no. That was the first thing that came to his mind. But he knew that Sasuke was still Naruto's friend and that he shouldn't dictate what the blond may or may not do.

"That's fine with me Naruto. As long as he doesn't make moves on you then you can go with him." Kiba said casually. This wasn't what Naruto was expecting for him to respond. He was expecting more of a 'You're my boyfriend so you can't go with him especially when what he wants to do is steal you away from me.' but Kiba said the exact opposite.

"But he's going to bring up the dating issue again. He really likes me Kiba. I can see it in his eyes. He only smiles when I'm with him and it kind of scares me." he admitted.

"But what do you want to do? He'll only stop if he learns that we're together and for now we've decided to stay low profile." Kiba reminded him.

"But what if he asks and won't stop until he hears the truth? What should I do then? Honestly Kiba, I don't think I want the whole school to know I'm gay. I'm scared about what some of the older and homophobic students will do if they find out. I've already seen the seniors bullying this 10th grader guy called Haku. And what about you? If word gets out then your family will surely know. Are you ready for that?" Naruto asked with concern.

"You're right. I don't want others to know just yet but if word ever gets out, I don't care about what others think. You're my boyfriend and I am proud of it. I'm not ashamed that I'm different from the norm. And we've got each other. You can teach me karate and we'll show them if they mess with us." Kiba punched Naruto on his shoulder lightly and gave a soft chuckle.

"Thanks Kiba. For saying that you're proud of us. I'm really happy you feel that way. Now let's arm ourselves with some muscles."

...

The next day was Wednesday and it meant that the last period was Music class, the only class that Naruto, Kiba and Sasuke all shared together. And not just share because they were also part of the same group.

"Now for today's class, I want each and every one of you to use the time to practice your instruments. I expect that you would have at least learned to play them by now, with the help of your volunteer instructors. Remember that before winter break, I will be assessing all of you one by one with your instruments. Feel free to use the soundproof rooms adjacent to the music hall. This is the Hidden in the Leaves Academy and we are known to be one of the best in the music field. Do not shame the name of the institution. Am I understood?" Mr. Shimura looked intently at each student's eyes as he spoke.

"Yes Mr. Shimura." the students replied in chorus.

"Now off to your groups then. Make sure to find a piece you are to play by February." And with that the students gathered their instruments and went to their respective groups and assigned soundproof rooms. Music was so valued in their school that there were at least 10 rooms, each of them 30 square meters in size that surrounded the music hall. It was the perfect place to practice for a group of five people. Each has its own recorder, a keyboard and mixer, along with high quality speakers and of course the soundproof walls that can make even screams and groans impossible to be heard from the outside. Also perfect for doing 'that' thing.

"This would be the first time we meet again ever since the day we were grouped together and that was a month ago. I don't know about your skill levels yet so it would be better if we have each one of us play their instrument this period. After that we'll select the piece we're going to perform by the end of the semester." Sasuke, the unanimous leader of the group said. He was the only one capable and of course the two girls voted for him. Naruto and Kiba didn't want the responsibility and Kiba didn't even know much shit about music anyway.

"Uhm, Sasuke-kun, I'm already good in playing my instrument." Aria, one of the girls said.

"The same goes for me Sasuke-kun." the other girl, Akima, said too.

"I think I'm doing well with my piccolo Sasuke but I don't really think it will work for a piece which will have a piano, a flute, an oboe, and a violin. The pitch is too high and the instrument is used for playful music and since you are going to be playing the piano and Mr. Shimura favors classical music, I don't think my instrument will make a good combination with the others." the blond shared his thoughts.

"But Mr. Shimura told us that all of us must play and it's up to us how we are to arrange the piece to fit our instruments." Aria replied to him.

"Regardless, Naruto does have a point. No matter how good you are at playing, as long as the instruments don't match, they won't sound good. And what about you Inuzuka? How's your playing coming along?" Sasuke questioned, trying to sound concerned. Well he was indeed concerned, but not for Kiba and only because it was a group work and he can't have anyone pulling him down.

"It's fine Uchiha." Kiba said disinterestedly, not really wanting to be making conversation with the raven. "Just need a bit more practice."

"Then make sure to perfect it by winter break. I will not be playing in a group that has a low-grade player." the Uchiha said arrogantly.

"What did you say?!" Kiba stood up from his sit, teeth bare and fists clenched. Sasuke was really going past what he could tolerate right now and that was little, and even if Sasuke wasn't doing anything, Kiba was already uneasy just by him being near Naruto.

"Now, now Kiba just calm down." Naruto also stood up and held Kiba's arms to prevent him from getting closer to Sasuke. "Sasuke didn't mean that and he hasn't even heard you play. Now just show him what I and Tayuya have taught you so you can shut him up." Kiba then relaxed a bit and grabbed his flute. Naruto on the other hand gave a glare to Sasuke which seemed to be of no effect to the raven.

"What is wrong with you? You didn't have to say things like that to Kiba. Sure he may be new to playing but it doesn't mean he's going to play badly. You haven't even heard him play Sasuke. If you want to stay friends with me then don't act like that towards my other friends." Naruto warned. "I'm hanging out with you today you know."

"I'm sorry. It's just that Kiba's… you know what I mean." Sasuke looked away.

"Yeah I understand. We'll talk later. Now we should each play our instruments so we'll know what to improve." the blond said cheerfully, his slight irritation towards the raven's action fading away.

"Okay."

"I vote that Akima plays first." Naruto said, turning towards the group. Kiba was probably not in the mood to be playing first right now and Naruto understood that.

"But I want to hear Sasuke-kun play the piano." Akima said, turning once again to fan-girl mode.

"Yeah me too. He should play first." Aria agreed. Sasuke just rolled his eyes at how pathetic the girls were. If only they knew that their ideal guy was actually a fan of cocks. But Sasuke wasn't really ready for letting the world know about that so he just sat in front of the keyboard and did some warm-up exercises before playing Cinema Paradiso by Ennio Morricone.

Naruto then walked towards Kiba. He seemed to have calmed down. He sat next to him, listening to Sasuke play while he talked with the brunet.

"Hey, you know Sasuke's only like that because he's jealous right?" said Naruto, trying to cheer up his boyfriend.

"I know." Kiba smiled though for only a few seconds before looking down and frowning again. "But what if what he said is true? What if I'm not good enough to play?"

"Don't underrate yourself Kiba. Tayuya doesn't say things like, 'Moron', 'Dumbass' and 'Stupid' to you anymore so that means you impress her already."

"I don't really know if I should feel happy about that change in her choice of words but I just hope your right Naruto. And what are you going to be doing with Uchiha later anyway? If he ever touches you I swear…" he warned, his tone changing to hostile.

"Calm down Kiba. I won't let him. And if he forces himself on me I'll have his balls acquainted with my foot." Naruto did a kicking motion to show Kiba what he means.

"Oohh, that sound painful." They looked at each other's eyes for a moment before they burst out laughing. Then they heard a 'SSSHHH' from the girls who were busy admiring every single note the raven played on the piano. They can go fan girl on Sasuke but hearing him play was not really of importance to Kiba.

"Just be confident Kiba. You'll play last and you'll impress them too." the blond encouraged him. Kiba just nodded, gaining the confidence he needed.

When Sasuke finished, the two fan girls cheered and clapped hard for their hero, really not the proper way it should be for someone who just played beautiful music. The claps yes, but the cheering with their high pitched voices, no. But Sasuke was used to it and just ignored the two girls. He took a seat beside Akima, wondering to himself how he could do such a thing but he supposed it was better than sitting next to Naruto and being near to Inuzuka. He wouldn't be able to stand that.

Aria played next with her violin. The song had a sad melody and Naruto instantly recognized it as Mi Mancherai, made famous by singer Josh Groban. And if he remembered correctly, Groban also sang Cinema Paradiso. It appeared that Groban was the music choice for the day. But he didn't really know any piece from Groban suitable for the piccolo so he may have to break the pattern.

When Aria finished her piece, Naruto, Kiba and Akima clapped for her. Aria was looking at Sasuke to see his reaction but the raven showed none. So she disappointedly walked back towards her seat as Akima stood up with her oboe. And as if Groban was not enough, Akima chose to play the piece Gabriel's Oboe which was also composed by Ennio Morricone. What's with the choices of pieces anyway?

Next up was Naruto. He waited for everyone to be silent and then taking a deep breath, started playing My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. The piccolo was an octave higher than the flute so Naruto made sure to adjust the piece to the piccolo's lowest octave so he can play it beautifully. It was suited better for the flute but he had no choice. He picked the piccolo when the term started so he had to use it.

The group clapped as he finished the song, receiving great compliments from everyone, especially Kiba and also Sasuke. Naruto then looked at Kiba and gave him a 'You can do it.' encouragement.

Kiba positioned the flute on his lips, controlling the shaking of his fingers. He blew his first note and then when the fear was gone, played 'Jean and Leo' by Wada Kaoru, a short and simple yet beautiful piece. Naruto listened to his boyfriend playing intently and all the others in their group did the same, Sasuke included, who was trying to find faults in Kiba's performance. After a little more than a minute, the song was finished and Naruto and the two girls clapped for him. He turned to look at Sasuke who remained motionless and looking disinterested but Kiba knew that he did well because the Uchiha wasn't saying anything against him. Kiba smirked to himself.

...

"So, what do you plan on doing today Sasuke?" Naruto asked excitedly, or at least tried to sound as excited as he used to be just more than a week ago. Since he was now finally with Kiba, every time not spent with him seemed like a 'waste of time'. Well maybe not really a waste of time but he really preferred if he'd gone out with Kiba this afternoon instead.

"We can play some video games. I've already done my advance studying for the rest of the week's topics so I'm okay to play. And you don't really seem to be the type to care much about for academics so I'll take that as you're okay with playing." said Sasuke.

"I wanna play shooter games." said Naruto, not even noticing that Sasuke sort of insulted him, or maybe Naruto was just really care free about his studies so he didn't mind the comment.

"Shooter? I was actually thinking of Tekken Tag 2 but I suppose it's fine. So what do you have in mind?"

"Do you have Far Cry 3?"

"I have every latest game but I haven't played that one yet."

"Well all the better. I'm so going to kick your ass Sasuke." Naruto said confidently.

"It doesn't mean that because I haven't played it yet that I'm not good at shooter games. I have very gifted eyes if you've forgotten."

"Gifted or not, reaction time can be practiced. I tell you Sasuke, one day when we fight again, you're going down." Naruto promised.

"I'm looking forward to it." the raven smirked.

...

"Another head shot and that's 50-23. I win Naruto and that means you're going to get the food and drinks from the fridge." Sasuke reminded him of the deal they made before their match.

"Can't we just have one of the maids bring us food here?" Naruto grumbled. The Uchiha mansion was huge and he didn't want a repeat of getting lost again in it.

"But we already made a deal that the loser gets the food and drinks, so get your ass up and go downstairs, dobe."

"I told you not to call me that temē."

"You're so cute when you're whining, you know that?" Sasuke chuckled.

"Yeah, 'cause you like, tell it to me every time." the blond rolled his eyes.

"And that's why I like teasing you because I really like seeing your expression."

"I hate you Sasuke." And with that, Naruto stormed off Sasuke's room leaving a chuckling Uchiha. He went to look for the kitchen which was found in the east wing of the house if memory serves him right. He's been there before during the time Sasuke brought him to his house after saving him from being beaten up. But he didn't take any chances so he asked one of the maids to accompany him to get some tacos for him and lasagna for Sasuke. He asked the maid about Sasuke's food preference and she said anything with tomatoes will do fine.

Others may not know it but Naruto actually was kind of a spoiled brat when he was younger so this side of him sprung up and he had the maid bring up the food and drinks to the room, just up until the front of the door. Then he took the tray and asked the maid to leave but not without saying thanks. He knocked on the door lightly with a free foot and asked for Sasuke to open the door which the raven did.

"Here's your food temē." the blond presented the tray to the raven.

"Lasagna. How'd you know which to get?" Sasuke curiously asked, looking at the lasagna, his mouth starting to water.

"Intuition, so why don't you help me put this on the table so I can rest my biceps for a bit."

"Don't even pretend dobe 'cause you're very bad at it. I heard two sets of footsteps just before you knocked on the door." he coolly stated.

"How'd you… never mind." He made his way to the small table and placed the tray there. Sasuke sat next to him, this time a little too close for Naruto's comfort.

"Naruto, I really hate it that you and I can't be more than friends." the raven started, bringing up a subject Naruto didn't want to talk about.

Naruto looked at him. He knew this conversation was going to start anytime soon but he didn't expect it to be this soon. What was he going to say?

"What do I have to do to make you like me Naruto? Tell me. I want to know." the raven asked.

"Sasuke, I… I don't really know what I should say. I just don't see you the way you see me. I don't think there's anything you can do to change that." Naruto replied sadly.

"It's hard liking someone who's in love with another. No matter what I do, it just doesn't change anything about how you look at me 'cause you'll always be looking at Kiba. I don't even know why I'm saying this. It's like I'm admitting to myself that I already lost to him."

"I'm sorry Sasuke."

"Naruto, just let me…" Sasuke moved closer and extended his right hand to pull Naruto's head closer to him but just before their lips met, Naruto realized what was about to happen and with all his strength, pushed the Uchiha away causing him to fall with his back on the floor.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the blond spoke in a startled voice. "I told you I'm not going to let you kiss me anymore."

"I can't control myself. It's been two weeks since I tasted your lips. And what's with your attitude anyway? Last time we kissed you were holding my arms tightly as I shove my tongue down your throat and now just a peck and you won't even let me?" The confusion was evident in the Uchiha's voice and also the frustration.

"You were badmouthing Kiba last week and even if you did say you're sorry for it, it doesn't mean you could just go kissing me again." the blond replied, making excuses since he couldn't tell the real reason.

"But it's not as if you don't like it. I don't really know what's with you Naruto. You said you can't see us being more than friends but for nearly four weeks you would always let me kiss you and you would always kiss back. You enjoy kissing me and I can't help but feel your just using me as a way to relieve your desires because you can't have Kiba."

And with those words, Naruto was speechless. He was thinking of something good to throw back to the Uchiha but what Sasuke said made a point. It was true. And Naruto was just beginning to realize it now.

"What are you going to say about that?" the raven asked calmly, after a moment of silence that passed them.

The blond looked down. He couldn't face Sasuke right now, not when he knew that what the raven said was right. He let Sasuke kiss him and hold him, not just because Sasuke benefited from it, it was because he did too. He couldn't deny that he enjoyed it whenever the raven would kiss him forcefully and push him on the couch to make-out with him for five minutes and how the raven would run his hands down on his hips.

It was like the memories flooded his mind. Memories he almost forgot ever since Kiba confessed to him and became his boyfriend. He told Kiba that Sasuke kissed him many times before, but he forgot just how intense they were. It was by this time that the memories returned and now he realized that he left out too much to Kiba.

"I don't deny it Sasuke. I'm sorry if I led you on. I did enjoy the kisses we shared but as I've told you, it's Kiba I like. No, I don't just like Kiba. I…" He hesitated for a bit but then continued with confidence. "…I love him. I know it makes me blind to whatever you do for me but there's nothing I can do about it. He made his way into me first and anything that comes after that just couldn't compare because I don't even try to consider it. We're friends Sasuke and that's all we'll be."

Sasuke looked at him, studying his words, the way he spoke, his eye and neck movements, facial expression and the way his hands moved. And it was by then that Sasuke confirmed his suspicion. All thanks to his gifted eyes.

"I see now Naruto." Sasuke said sadly. "I see now why you won't let me kiss you."

Naruto looked at him, not understanding what Sasuke was talking about. There was just too much going on right now and he needed to get away from Sasuke to sort out his thoughts.

"I'm going home Sasuke. It's getting late anyway." he reasoned.

"I'll have the driver take you home." the raven offered.

"Thanks. That would be nice."

...

A week passed and Naruto and Sasuke haven't talked to each other, not unless it was related to school work. Kiba noticed this since he was wary of Sasuke's actions ever since learning that he too likes Naruto. But since the day after Naruto went to Sasuke's home, the two wouldn't interact that much and it really confused Kiba.

Naruto, on the other hand has failed to tell his boyfriend about what happened with Sasuke in his last visit to the Uchiha's home, about what they talked about and about his realizations. And especially about his previous activities with Sasuke that he has unintentionally left out from Kiba.

It was the last class on a Thursday that Kiba had and he was getting fidgety in his seat. He was staring intently at the clock, wishing that the hands would go faster so that he could be with Naruto sooner. Though it was probably a bad idea because it just showed him how slow time can go. His Japanese class was really getting boring. He already memorized all the hiragana and katakana characters and now their teacher just thought it would be good to teach them kanji too. It was just two months since he started Japanese for crying out loud and even if he has Japanese ancestry, it wasn't like he was going to Japan,

BZZZ BZZZ

Kiba felt the phone in his pocket vibrate and this lifted up his spirits a bit. Only Naruto texted him during class so he discreetly took out the phone and opened the message excitedly. The thing was, the message wasn't from Naruto and nor was it from anyone he knew. It was from an unknown number and the message was his worst fear.

I HAVE YOUR DOG. MEET ME AT THE BACK OF THE SCHOOL BUILDING IF YOU WANT HIM UNHARMED. DON'T TELL ANYONE.

'FUCK!' was all Kiba could shout in his thoughts.

He was now desperate for the bell to ring. Five minutes, just five more minutes and he'd be out of there and on to this fucktard coward who dare mess with him and Akamaru.

'They could be bluffing. Who would take a dog as hostage? And why the school grounds? Ugh, but what if they're telling the truth. I should text Torune and Foo. Damn I almost forgot they're not home for this week. The landlord, I can't either. I don't have his number. I guess I just have to meet with this guy. What are they even planning that they had to take Akamaru as leverage? And I still have to make sure I'm alone. Now what am I going to say to Naruto?'

As soon as the bell rang, Kiba hurried up his seat and went straight for Naruto's locker. The blond was already there and thankfully he spotted Shino. The blond saw him coming and greeted him with a 'Hi'. He asked if they were ready to go home and Naruto nodded. The three walked together towards the school gate, Naruto unaware of the situation but Shino was looking at Kiba with an analyzing gaze. This was Kiba's plan. When they were close to the school gate, Kiba suddenly initiated his plan on making sure Naruto won't follow him to his meeting.

"Naruto uhm, can you go ahead with Shino? I forgot something in my locker so I'll just get it real quick and then catch up with you guys." he said.

"I'll come with you." the blond replied without thinking twice.

"Just go ahead Naruto. You don't have to come and run back with me to the building now that you're already at the school gate." Kiba reasoned out. This got Naruto to think for a bit and then he agreed.

"Fine. Just make sure to be real quick."

"Don't worry. I'll be with you soon enough."

And with that the Inuzuka dashed off, not caring about the other students who were looking at him curiously because he was running like a track star chased by a wolf pack.

"Inuzuka." the person waiting at the back of the school building spoke in a menacing tone. He was across the soccer field and was surrounded by trees and bushes, unnoticeable if one was not looking for him.

"Uchiha." the brunet said in return. "So it's you. I should have known. Where's my dog?"

"I don't have him. I just wanted to talk with you alone and make sure of it. Now tell me, what is your real relationship with Naruto?" Sasuke demanded.

"He's my best friend if you want me to point out the obvious." Kiba replied in a pissed off manner. He got worried over his dog for this, and also for the fact that Akamaru was perfectly fine and the text fooled him. But Kiba loves his dog and would do anything for him, even if he didn't know if the text was true or not.

"Really? Just a best friend? You need to be careful about your words Inuzuka because who knows who might hear them. So are you sure he's just your best friend?" Sasuke asked again.

"He's just my best friend so stop making me repeat myself." the annoyance in Kiba's tone was clearly apparent by now.

"You shouldn't lie about something like that Inuzuka 'cause I can plainly see what two you are."

"Then if you can see what we are then why the hell are you still asking me? I don't have time to waste here Uchiha. Naruto's waiting for me and this stupid conversation already took 7 minutes of my time."

"... just my best friend so stop making me repeat myself." a sound that came from what Kiba guessed to be a recorder was played.

"What's with that Uchiha?" Kiba asked, looking at the black gadget in the raven's hand.

"This will be your downfall Inuzuka. I'm sure Naruto would find this very interesting to hear about, you being ashamed of him that you would deny what your relationship really is."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. It's not just a threat because I'm making sure he hears this, see how much of trash you could be." the raven said with confidence.

A low chuckle was heard from the Kiba. Hearing this, Sasuke was taken aback by the reaction to his threat. It was not was he was expecting. Inuzuka should have been charging at him to grab the recorder but there he was laughing as if he didn't care. But what if?

"Why such a reaction? Are you chuckling because you were just playing with him and don't give a shit if he finds out?" It was what came to Sasuke's mind after hearing the brunet's chuckle, ignorant of why Kiba was answering the way he was.

"No Uchiha. You're wrong. I'm not scared about you letting Naruto hear what I said because Naruto knows how I truly feel about him. Whatever I say to you won't matter." Kiba assured him.

"Why?" the raven narrowed his eyes.

"Because to deny it to you was something we've already talked about. So that means your little plot to break us up is a waste of time and neurons."

Crack.

Kiba looked at the direction of the sound and saw that it was the black recorder in Sasuke's hands. Now it was in a hundred pieces, crushed by the anger infused strengthened hand of the Uchiha.

"Why did he have to choose you? What is it about you that he likes so much? I'm way superior to you, my looks, grades, athletic abilities and still he won't even consider me." The question was addressed to Kiba though it was also a question the Uchiha was asking himself.

"Don't ask me Uchiha because only Naruto knows the answer to that." Kiba replied.

"No I don't have to because I think I do know. You're the reason for this." he pointed a finger at Kiba. "You were the one who badmouthed about me, made Naruto avoid me in the beginning. This is all your fault INUZUKA!" Sasuke's voice was getting louder with hints of anger as he said the other boy's name.

"I've only told him the truth Uchiha and I was not aware that what I said would have such an effect. I didn't know he's gay. It was not my fault Uchiha. You were the one who made the bad reputation. If you just accepted that you're gay from before then this would not have happened."

"NO! It's NOT my fault. I am an UCHIHA and I don't do anything wrong." he firmly stated.

"You're sounding desperate."

"I've liked him longer than you have. It's YOUR fault. You made him stay away from me no matter what I did to get close to him and you've ignited in him this fear of me that makes all his perception of me biased."

"I'm getting out of here Uchiha. I think I've made my boyfriend wait long enough." Kiba said before turning back towards the school building.

**_Boyfriend_**

From hearing that word, the word that confirmed everything, and the word that the Uchiha was dreading to hear, his control over his body snapped and he lunged forward for Kiba who was walking away from him. Kiba who was blind to the action didn't even have the chance to move away and was now pinned to the ground, facing the grass beneath him.

"What the fuck Uchiha!" He was flipped on his back only to face a fist that was coming at his face in high speed, hitting him directly on his left cheek bone. The stinging pain he felt made him move on instinct and his arms immediately pushed away Sasuke who was on top of him. He didn't know how to fight against someone who's a black belt in Karate and was gifted with eyesight able to detect the fastest of punches but he was still stronger than the Uchiha so with one push, he succeeded in throwing the raven a meter away from him and down to the ground. But the raven was highly skilled that he just channeled the momentum into a backward roll and it didn't even take two seconds for him to be back on his feet and charging once again at Kiba who was still trying to get up.

Kiba prepared for the expected blow he was about to receive and placed his arms in front to block the Uchiha's attack. Sasuke pushed hard from the ground and lunged himself to Kiba's guarded stomach, succeeding in pinning the brunet once again into the ground but this time throwing consecutive punches down at the brunet who was maintaining a defensive position beneath him.

"How could you become his boyfriend when for the last month I was the one shoving my tongue down his throat?!" the raven yelled almost hysterically. Kiba's arms were already starting to bruise from all the punches he received and the pain was disrupting his other senses so he didn't understand much of what the raven shouted to him.

Kiba was no fighter but he did have the strength to throw a powerful strike. The only thing he focused on doing now was thinking of how he could land one hit on Sasuke so he could at least make an opening and escape. The only thing that came to mind was to sacrifice one direct hit so that he could grab Sasuke's arms and then make his counterattack.

He moved his aching arms upward to try and catch the raven's punch but the punch slipped and made yet another direct contact to his face. But before Sasuke's arm could retract, Kiba has grabbed hold of it using one hand and with immense concentration despite the attack that landed on his face, managed to also catch the incoming attack from Sasuke's other fist with his other hand. Sure there was pain, but now it was overridden and he was able to maintain a firm grip on both arms, rendering the Uchiha's upper limbs immobile. Kiba was much stronger after all.

Just when he thought he got the tables turned over, Sasuke did a move he didn't expect and it hit him right on his forehead. It was a solid head butt which not only contacted his forehead but also due to the force, had the back of his head hitting the cement. It disoriented him and he lost grip of Sasuke's arms and now they were set loose to once again pound on the brunet.

"I am an UCHIHA! I always get what I want! You hear that!? Huh!?" the raven screamed at him as he punched Kiba on his cheeks, alternately with his right and left fists.

"SASUKE STOP!"

"Naruto should be mine, not yours." After four more direct hits to his face and a whole lot of concentration, Kiba was able to block out the punches again with his arms. He couldn't even hear the voice that was calling out to them. And the raven, also being caught up in his rage also failed to hear the pleas that were getting louder and louder as it came closer and closer.

"DAMN IT SASUKE! I SAID STOP!"

"PLEASE SASUKE!"

"SASUKE!" Naruto who was on the verge of tears finally reached Sasuke and grabbed his shirt from behind to pull him away from Kiba. But he wasn't powerful enough and Sasuke who was not in full control of his actions, turned back to see who it was that tried to prevent him from beating up the person he despised the most, but failed to recognize him before releasing a powerful punch that hit the person he wouldn't have laid one finger on right between the nose.

"AHH!" Naruto shouted in pain as he fell back on his butt. He immediately grabbed the source of pain, his eyes still closed as a natural reaction to protect itself.

It was only after hearing the scream of pain from Naruto's mouth that Sasuke realized what he just did.

"Naruto?" he stared dumbfounded at the blond who was covering his face with his hands. "NARUTO! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" he immediately went to tend to Naruto who was just opening his eyes to look at the person who landed the punch on him.

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM UCHIHA!" Kiba yelled. His face was starting to swell but since it was only about six direct hits, it wasn't really that bad. "You're the one who did this to him and now out of the blue you're just going to say sorry as if you think it can fix what you did."

"I didn't know it was him." Sasuke defended himself. "Do you really think I would hurt him intentionally?"

"But you did so just stay away from him and let me take care of him." Kiba had already stood up and was now making his way towards Naruto. He couldn't care less about what Sasuke did to him. All that mattered was checking if Naruto was okay.

"Blood." They heard Naruto say, in a tone that contained no life, only stating the fact that there was blood that was smeared on his palms and on his face.

"Shit you're bleeding Naruto. We have to take you to the nurse's office." Kiba said as he kneeled down in front of Naruto. Sasuke tried making his way to Naruto but Kiba once again yelled at him to stay away. After that he could only look from afar, asking himself how he did such a thing.

"Kiba, there's blood on my hands." Naruto was crying, his voice was shaking and the look on his face showed fear that Kiba hasn't seen before in his life. And then Naruto once again placed his hands on his face, feeling the red substance that flowed down his nose.

"My face, it's bleeding." he said.

"No, your face is not bleeding, just your nose. It must have gotten broken and we need to get you to the nurse's office right now." Kiba repeated. He tried to search for his handkerchief so he could wipe off the blood on Naruto's face but before he could do it, he heard Naruto screaming in a voice he wished he never heard.

"MY FACE IS BLEEDING! NO, NO, NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Naruto screamed as he covered his face with both his hands and cried as fear overwhelmed him. Kiba didn't know what to do. It wasn't a normal reaction. He knew that Naruto shouldn't have reacted this way to something like this. At least not as intense as what he was doing. Even Kiba was getting scared.

"Naruto please calm down." he pleaded, holding Naruto securely, only acting on his instincts while Sasuke stood still trying to comprehend the severity of what he just did.

"DON"T COME NEAR ME! PLEASE DON'T! TAKE THE BLADE AWAY FROM ME! I'M SOR…" Naruto couldn't continue anymore and he broke into sobs, his breathing going faster and shallower by the moment until he passed out in Kiba's embrace.

"Naruto. What happened to you?" was all Kiba could ask.

A/N:

I'm sure everyone's going to ask about the 'BLADE' and why Naruto was reacting so hysterical but I know some of you would have figured that out. Some Naruto fanfics have that element, in different forms, but mostly the 'BLADE'. So many revelations still to be unraveled so just stay tuned. And remember to leave a REVIEW. Reviews are the joys of a fan fiction author and also their fuel that encourages them to write more. More reviews means faster update.


	15. Hot Chocolate on a Stormy Night

Chapter 15

**Hot Chocolate on a Stormy Night**

Naruto opened his eyes. The ceiling was white and his eyes were still adjusting to the light. He didn't remember going to bed so he tried to sit up but before he was even able to look around, he was greeted by none other than Kiba. Or at least he looked like Kiba.

"Hey, you're awake. You really got me worried Naruto." Kiba said in a concerned tone. Naruto looked confused. What would Kiba be worried about him for? And why was Kiba's face all bumpy and why was he holding what looked to be a cold pack on his face. Cold pack, swollen face, punches, Kiba on the ground, Sasuke.

"Kiba are you okay?" Naruto lunged at him, finally making sense of things as the memories of what happened flooded his mind.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just a little swelling on my cheeks and one black eye but I'll survive. What about you, how do you feel?"

"My nose stings a little bit. I remember, Sasuke punched me accidentally. But why am I here? Where is here anyway?" Naruto looked at the window and notice that he was at school.

"We're in the school's infirmary. You fainted. You were screaming about having blood on your face and then you passed out." Kiba reminded to him.

"Oh."

"Hey, can you tell me something?"

"Yeah, sure."

"When you saw the blood on your face and on your hands, you went hysterical. You looked so scared I didn't know what to do to calm you down. And then you mentioned something about keeping the blade away from you before you fainted." The mention of 'that' word made Naruto gasp.

"Did I really say that?" Naruto looked at Kiba. It was too soon. Kiba shouldn't have learned about that yet. But he was asking now and Naruto didn't know what he should say.

"Yes you did. And I think it has something big to do with how you reacted a while ago." Kiba said. The brunet looked at Naruto and saw that he was uncomfortable about the subject.

"I'll tell you some other time Kiba. I'm sorry that I scared you. It's just I have… a fear of blood." he explained. Though it wasn't the real reason, it was still part of the whole. He didn't technically lie about it.

"Okay." Kiba said, though not sounding convinced but he decided to drop the matter. "But you're really okay now?"

"I'm okay Kiba. I don't even remember what you told me. The last thing I remember was Sasuke beating you and then I got hit on my nose. From there it's all blank. He must have hit me hard because it still stings." Naruto even tried to chuckle, doing all he could to avoid the earlier subject.

"I'll call the nurse to check up on you." Kiba stood up but Naruto grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Wait I want to ask you something. What happened to Sasuke? And how long was I out?"

"Just for an hour and a half. Sasuke is in the principal's office. His father was called and Jiraiya's also here. My mother couldn't come this afternoon so she said she'll deal with what happened tomorrow. You know, she even blamed me for getting beat up by someone who's thinner than me. But seriously, Sasuke was so fast I couldn't even catch up." the brunet admitted. He was so out of his league.

"I am so angry at Sasuke right now I want to beat him up. So why were you fighting anyway? Is that why you told me to go ahead? You didn't really forget something in your locker, did you?" Naruto asked in an accusing tone.

"About that, I'm sorry for lying to you Naruto. But someone texted me about them having Akamaru and to meet up with them alone. So I made you go ahead with Shino. I didn't know it was Sasuke I would be meeting up with." he confessed.

"Sasuke blackmailed you?" Naruto was shocked. He knew that Sasuke likes him a lot, but to blackmail Kiba just for that? Sasuke shouldn't even know about Naruto and Kiba's real relationship so why would he go to such an extent?

"He did. He couldn't accept that you chose me over him. I think he snapped when I said that my boyfriend's waiting for me. Hearing the word boyfriend." Kiba explained his reasoning.

"I knew something like this would happen. I got this gut feeling that I should follow you back Kiba. So I did and then I found you two fighting there on the ground."

"Yo." Both boys turned to the direction of the voice. It was Jiraiya at the door and the nurse following behind him.

"Hey kid, you alright?" the white-haired man questioned.

"I'm fine per- Jiraiya." Naruto almost slipped at that one. Not really a good idea to refer to your godfather as a perv with others around.

"I'm sure you are. Just a slightly broken nose and not even too serious. But what happened after that, I'm sure your parents will be worried about once they learn." Jiraiya said, referring to Naruto's hysteria incident.

"Have you told them?" the blond asked.

"Not yet. I had to talk with your principal and Fugaku Uchiha, Sasuke's father. It was boring. I learned that you weren't really even in the fight and you just got accidentally punched."

"So what did you talk about?"

"Mostly about what will happen to Sasuke kid. He was given one week suspension. There were witnesses to what happened and one even saw and heard it from the start. It was clear that Sasuke was the one who started it. And because of that, your secret of being boyfriends are most likely out of the bag. Teens don't know how to keep their mouth shut."

"Well, it's okay if they know I'm gay." Naruto admitted. "But Kiba, what about you?" he asked, turning to the brunet with a concerned look.

"What's done is done. But as long as you're with me, I think I can survive. I've accepted that I'm bi for quite some time anyway. And I think it's hard not to be able to hold you in school." Kiba admitted.

"But Kiba that's PDA."

"Everyone does it." Kiba argued.

"Not the gay ones." the blond retorted.

"They'll get used to it. And besides, it's not like we two are the only ones coming out. We have Sasuke to go with us. I wonder how his father reacted when he found out." Kiba chuckled. Oh, karma, how sweet you can be when it's on your enemy.

"As much as I hate Sasuke right now, I wish his father won't resent him. Uchihas should be perfect, that's what they say. I still hope they accept him though." Naruto honestly said.

"You know, that's what I like about you Naruto. Even though that asshole just beat up your boyfriend and punched you straight in the face, you still want the best for him. You're really a good person." remarked the brunet.

"Uhm, Naruto, may I interrupt your conversation?" the nurse asked, having been able to find the moment to cut in between the two. "I need to perform some evaluations to see if you may go home."

"Okay." Naruto nodded. Kiba sat on the chair and Jiraiya talked with him while the nurse did her examination. It took only about 3 minutes and the nurse cleared for him to be able to go. With that, the three of them left the school building, riding Jiraiya's car and went home to Naruto's house.

...

They went up the door and Jiraiya took out his keys and opened it. From upstairs, they could hear the television's sound. 'It must be Yahiko and the others.' Naruto thought.

"I'll leave you two here Naruto. I have to buy some paper and ink for my writing. I bought the groceries earlier so just rummage the kitchen and find anything you want to prepare." And with that, Jiraiya excused himself and drove off.

"Kiba, let's go upstairs." Naruto invited him. The brunet complied and soon enough, they were at each other lips, making out on Naruto's bed.

"You are such a good kisser Kiba." Naruto smiled.

"Only 'cause Sasuke didn't hit me on my lips." Kiba grabbed hold of Naruto's arms and pushed him down on the bed. "You're so gorgeous." he said in a deep and sexy voice. Naruto smiled and pulled down Kiba's head, bringing his lips down to crash on his.

"And you're hot."

"I know right?" Kiba said cockily. Naruto just smiled.

"I'm so happy you're my boyfriend."

"I could very well say the same."

The two laid beside each other, exchanging soft kisses every now and then. They were tired and right now all they really wanted to do was cuddle, feel the heat exchanging between them in this cold November night.

"I'll tell you Kiba. About why I got so scared of the blood and fainted as you said." Naruto said determined as he sat up. Kiba followed him.

"Are you sure you want to talk about it Naruto? I don't want you remembering something probably so painful and this soon." Kiba said in a caring tone. He already saw how much the earlier events affected Naruto. He was clearly remembering something during that time. He saw the fear in those blue eyes and he didn't want to see it again.

"It's okay Kiba. It's something I have to tell you. And I need to be able to face it again so I can be stronger." Naruto replied resolutely.

"I'll listen to you then."

"Just let me finish before saying anything." Naruto requested. He already sat on his bed in an Indian sit. Kiba remained sitting on the edge of the bed.

Naruto took a deep breath and muttered something that sounded to be like, "You can do this." to himself.

**_Naruto's POV_**

It happened earlier this year, around May. Before coming here to Konoha, I used to live with my parents in Uzushi which is my mother's hometown. My parents still live there now and I'm only studying here because they wanted me to transfer. Of course I also wanted to transfer too.

The school I attended to offered 7th-12th grade. And so since there were older and larger students, it couldn't be helped that I got bullied. And then one day as I was walking home, I saw one of the bullies and immediately recognized him. His name was JIrou and I knew that he never acted alone. He was looking at me and then when he smirked at me, I knew that I had to run. I took a path in the alleys, hoping I could outrun him. But I was small compared to them and they got the speed. I however got agility so I managed to run away for about 30 seconds.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jirou shouted at me. I ran as fast as I could, my lungs burning with the lack of oxygen, the muscles in my legs aching with the buildup of lactic acid. I negated all those sensations and I ran even faster but as I turned to a corner, I was met with a knee to my stomach. I felt the air pushed out of me. I couldn't even let out scream of pain.

"Thought you could run away huh, faggot?" the guy who came up from the corner and kneed me arrogantly said. He called me a faggot. But how could he have known? He then quickly wrapped his arms around me. I was clutching my stomach, the pain almost unbearable. I was about to fall on my knees but the guy prevented so.

"Nice job of catching him Raizen." the guy who was chasing me remarked. "Now it's time we teach this kid a lesson."

"I totally agree with you Jirou." yet another guy who came up from behind him said.

"Blame your coward of a friend for bringing you in this situation. He just had to sell out his 'so-called' friend so we wouldn't hurt him." Yuuko, the one who last arrived said to me.

I struggled to get out of Raizen's grip but failed to do so from the muscular twelfth grader. He was so strong it was a waste of energy to even try.

"Why are you doing this? I haven't done anything to you." I asked with a faltering voice. Now I was surrounded by three guys, all at least 8 inches taller than me and whose bodies were well built.

"Yuuko just told you, blame your friend. He was originally our target but cowering as you were, when we asked if he can give us a better one, he immediately pointed to you, even telling us of your secret 'preferences'." Jirou raised an eyebrow at me. He was clearly the leader of the three. The aura he emitted was enough proof of that. He was evidently one to enjoy the suffering of others. "So what do you say about that, little fag?"

At the mention of that word again. From the way he spat it. I felt so degraded. I know I'm gay but when he used that word, I felt like I was trash. I turned to look away. But Jirou bent his knees so to level his eyes with me. He reached out his hand and raised my chin up so he could look at me directly in the eyes.

"You know, if there's anything I don't like the most, it would be fags. They're disgusting freaks of nature. That's why they need to be taught a lesson."

"I'm not a fag." I denied. I was so scared and no one else knew I'm gay except for my parents and my ex-friend who sold me out. But my voice which couldn't produce a more resolved tone told them otherwise.

"It's too late to deny it little fag. Because if you weren't, we wouldn't be here. I always make sure my sources are correct. I wouldn't want to hurt those who are like me. Those who are straight." Jirou chuckled evilly after that.

"You do the honors Jirou." Raizen gave him something and as I recognized what it was, my eyes grew wide in horror. It was a cutter, brand new from the looks of it.

"Shit this is gonna be so cool. We should record this." Yuuko suggested. He was a sadist, all of them were. They couldn't even see how terrified I was and they didn't care how much pain I would be in.

"Things like this shouldn't be recorded. If we want to see it again, we just have to do it again." Jirou said. He took a lighter from his pocket and with a flick, the flames sprung out and sterilized the blade of the cutter on his other hand. How thoughtful of him.

"Please don't kill me!" I begged them. All I could think of was that they were going to slit my throat. I thought I was gonna die. I've never been so scared in my whole life. I saw the blade of the cutter inching towards me and I shook my body even more, mustering all my strength but all was futile as Yuuko helped secure me along with Raizen. I tried to scream for help, but it was too late for that because Raizen has gagged me with a piece of rolled cloth. The tears flowed down from eyes.

"Oh, is little faggy-chan crying? Hahaha. You've not met real pain to be cried upon on yet. Now what kind of design should I do to you?" Jirou said. He seemed to be looking around trying to think and then his eyes turned to my backpack that has fallen. He must have spotted the fox keychain on it.

"Secure him tightly if you don't want to get yourselves cut too." Jirou warned the other two.

"Don't worry Jirou. This kid's too weak anyway." Raizen assured him. He held me even tighter. I couldn't really move.

"I'm leaving you with this gift little princess. Think of it as a sort of reminder." And with that, Jirou brought the blade of the cutter on my right cheek, pressed it enough to draw blood and slid it from left to right. I screamed from the excruciating pain and tried to struggle even more, futile as it was because my screams were muffled and my small body useless against the two guys who secured me.

"Stop squirming or else I might accidentally cut in you other places." Jirou warned me. "We don't want you to go blind, do we? You won't be able to see my masterpiece then."

In the 30 seconds of my face being sliced, it felt as if each one was a full minute. The pain was almost impossible to bear. I should have passed out. I wanted to pass out but the overload of the pain sensation firing into me was able to keep me awake just to experience it all. It was after six horizontal lines, three on each cheek and all three inches long were etched into my face that Jirou stopped.

Jirou lifted up my head which was too tired to keep itself upright. He inspected his work and when he was happy, signaled for the two other guys to let go of me.

"Don't worry. He's in so much pain he can't call for help now, not until we get away." Jirou said to the other two though Raizen was doubtful and still held onto me.

"Now look at me little fag. I've given you six lines. Not only lines. 'Straight' lines. As a reminder of what you should be. Every time you see yourself in the mirror, it will be a reminder to you. I only care about you. Faggots burn in hell. It's not too late for you to turn away from your sinful ways." And with his final words to me, he turned back and signaled for the two to follow him. Not too long they were already out of the alley where they gave me my supposed lesson.

With all my remaining strength, I stood up trying to ignore the pain from the cuts on my face and the drops of blood that decorated the path under me and walked out of the alley. As I came out, people who were walking around were shocked. Help came to me immediately. I remember someone asking me who did it but I fainted before I could even reply.

...

"The next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital, my whole face covered with bandages and my mother crying as she hugged me. I didn't feel much of the pain. Maybe the doctor gave me some painkillers. They asked me who did that to me and then I told them. My father was very careful not to inform my brother what happened. Kurama cares for me so much it's likely he'll kill them if he learned who they were. But since he was in uni, he was told at a later date about what happened. He got so mad at me for not telling him sooner when he learned about it though." Naruto took a pause after that. He has spoken for too long and he needed the break. Kiba listened to him intently, not cutting him off in the middle to ask questions.

Naruto saw how Kiba's face showed anger and how his fists would clench as he told him his story.

"I can't believe people could do something like that, especially to someone as kind and loving as you Naruto. I think I want to beat the shit out of these guys who did this to you. What happened to them anyway?" asked Kiba.

"They got expelled immediately. Dad has money and they were sent to juvi as soon as I attested. When that happened, others whom they bullied before also sprung up to testify against them. They were given 5 years in prison after they turn 18." Naruto told him. He himself was surprised that he was calm when he talked about this secret of him. In the past, he would breakdown even before reaching the part where the bullies cut him. But with Kiba around, he somehow felt safe and his memories couldn't haunt him anymore.

"Kurama-niisan got pissed that he didn't get his hands on them before they were sent to juvi. But that's probably the best thing if he didn't want to join them there." Naruto even managed to chuckle. Kiba smiled at seeing how his boyfriend was already past the shock that came to him earlier. Leaning close, he gave a small kiss to Naruto's lips, surprising the blond but still responded just in time.

"You know what, even though it must have been so painful for you, I think your marks make you hot. But I do wish you wouldn't have to go through that. It's just that since it's already there…"

"I know what you mean Kiba. I'm happy you think of it that way. I actually thought that people would be disgusted with how I look after that incident but knowing you like it, I'm happy for that." Naruto smiled.

Growwwlll. The sound of their stomachs caught both their attention. It was already 7:30 PM and they haven't eaten yet.

"Time for us to go down I think." Naruto remarked.

"Yeah I'm starving." Kiba agreed.

RROOAARR

"GAHH!" Naruto shrieked in surprise. A loud thunder clap echoed through the skies, startling both teens, Naruto on the most part. Kiba laughed at Naruto's reaction. He always found it cute in Naruto.

"Stop laughing Kiba. That thunder came out of nowhere and it was too loud." Naruto reasoned. "It looks like it's going to rain heavy. Do you think there'll be a storm?"

"Possibly. I hope classes gets cancelled. It's Friday tomorrow anyway and I don't feel like going to school with a beat up face." Kiba said. Naruto chuckled but when he remembered what Sasuke did to his Kiba, his expression changed.

"Sasuke's so gonna pay for what he did to you. I only got a broken nose but he ruined your pretty face Kiba."

"Pretty? Oh come on Naruto, that sounds so, feminine. Can't you think of another word to describe it?" he complained.

"No. I'm sticking to pretty." Naruto insisted. Kiba rolled his eyes though Naruto didn't seem to be affected by it.

"Come on let's go." Kiba pulled Naruto's arm and led him to the door.

"Okay, okay. Don't be too excited." said Naruto.

...

"I think I want to eat something with chocolate tonight." Naruto stated. Kiba looked at him curiously. Who eats chocolate for dinner?

"Don't you want to eat something that's actually served for dinner? You know, like meat." Kiba asked with one raised eyebrow.

"Nu uh." the blond shook his head. "I'm not in the mood. And besides, it's raining outside and it's very cold. Hot chocolate is the best for this type of weather."

"But hot chocolate's not gonna fill our stomachs." Kiba tried to reason out.

"Then I'll make us some champorado." stated Naruto.

"Champo-what-now?" asked the confused Kiba.

"Champorado. It's a porridge made of glutinous rice and chocolate. But instead of rice, I use oatmeal. It's quicker and more delicious." Naruto explained to him.

"Hmmm. It doesn't really sound delicious. Oats with chocolate? I've never tried that before."

"I promise you Kiba, you're going to like it. Maybe three refills at the very least." Naruto estimated.

"If you're so confident, I guess I'll try this one."

"Okay. I'll go get the oats and the chocolate and you ready the pan and water."

"You're not gonna use instant oats?"

"It's instant alright but I prefer cooking it on boiling water, not just water from the thermos." Naruto said as he opened the cabinet to get the oats. He went to the fridge next and got 4 big Crunch bars.

"So when you said chocolate, you meant chocolate bars, not chocolate powder." Kiba said in realization.

"I can be creative you know. Now we'll just wait for the water to boil and then cook the oats and put the chocolate last. We'll add sugar until it's sweet enough."

After about 15 minutes, the champorado was done and the smell radiated throughout the whole house.

"Hey Naruto, is that what I think it is?" they heard Yahiko shouting from his room upstairs.

"Yes Yahiko-niisan. You can come down to get some. I've made enough for all of us." Naruto yelled back. And not 10 seconds after, large footsteps echoed down the stairs and Yahiko was already in front of them. The orange-haired teen hovered over the pan and sniffed the chocolaty smell of the champorado.

"Perfectly cooked my young Naruto." he looked up at the blond and then noticed the brunet beside him. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Got into a fight earlier. Wait, you didn't know?" Kiba asked surprised.

"I haven't been outside my room since I got home." Yahiko said. He took out two bowls and filled them with the chocolate porridge. "So, who did you get into a fight with?"

"Sasuke." replied Kiba.

"Oh, no wonder you lost." Yahiko said, not even looking at Kiba as he busied himself finding milk in the fridge. He poured the milk on the two bowls of champorado and then got two spoons.

"So, why'd you two fight anyway?" he asked, curious about what the brunet did to piss Sasuke off that he had to rearrange his face.

"Oh, it's nothing really Yahiko-niisan. Why don't you just go upstairs? And who's up there anyway?" Naruto answered for the brunet.

"It's uhm, it's Nagato of course." Yahiko replied nervously.

"Then why are you stuttering?" It was just mere observation on Naruto's part but somehow Yahiko was taking it a different way.

"Am I huh? You must be imagining things. Nagato and I always go home early so of course it's Nagato there with me. It's only natural for me to bring him some champorado considering we're brothers you know." Yahiko reasoned.

"You're with Konan-neesan aren't you?" Naruto said with a knowing smirk as he figured out what was going on.

"I'm outta here." Yahiko announced as he ran hurriedly upstairs, tripping lightly that he spilled a few of the hot champorado on his skin. "FUCK!" The boys laughed at Yahiko's performance.

"Come on, let's get our own share." Naruto turned off the stove and got two bowls. He filled both of them and when he turned around, Kiba reached out his hand to get his bowl. Naruto gave a curious look at the brunet then understood what it was about.

"Both of these are mine Kiba. Get your own."

"What? But I thought the other one was for me?"

"I'm hungry and usually I eat five bowls."

"Man, and I thought you were being sweet and getting a bowl for your boyfriend who's been beat up more than you." Kiba pulled out a puppy dog face. 'Gosh he's so cute.' Naruto thought. 'Even though his face looks like, well I don't know what it looks like right now.' Naruto got another bowl for Kiba this time and filled it up. Kiba on the other hand took care of the spoons and the milk, pouring a good amount on the three bowls.

"Now, let's go upstairs and watch a movie." Naruto said.

"I couldn't agree more. Can I stay the night here?" Kiba asked. Naruto looked at him, then smiled.

"Of course you can Kiba."

"Hey come to think of it, the room we were at earlier wasn't the same room from the last time I was here right?" Kiba stated his observation.

"Yeah. I got myself my own room. Though there's only one bed."

"We'll just sleep together then. It's not like we haven't done that before. And you know, even if there were two beds, we'd still end up sleeping on one."

"You have a point." Naruto conceded. "So, call Shino already and tell him."

"Okay."

A/N:

I don't really ask for much but a review would really be nice. I don't earn money for this but a review really makes up for the time I put on this fanfiction.

Usually, champorado is made with cocoa powder and glutinous rice, but my old man said it was too long to cook so he used oats and chocolate powder, like Milo or Ovaltine instead. The Crunch bars, he used that one time because that's the chocolate we have. And it tasted wonderful. I also prefer using powdered milk instead of the liquid one. Actually, I haven't eaten oats champorado in other places before, only we cook it that way. Maybe others but not those I've met before. They all use glutinous rice. Come try it, the champorado, if you haven't yet.


	16. An Unexpected Visitor

Chapter 16

**An Unexpected Visitor**

"I am very disappointed in you Sasuke. First, you got into a fight again. I thought you would gotten over this by last year but it seems you just can't control yourself." Fugaku Uchiha shook his head, looking down at his son. "And second, I find out that you're gay and that you're in love with this Uzumaki kid. Do you deny it?"

"I don't father." replied Sasuke, looking down on the floor as he did not have enough courage to look his father in the eye.

"I can't have you behaving this way Sasuke. How am I going to face that boy's mother? Tsume Inuzuka isn't exactly your typical woman." Fugaku put a hand on his forehead then brought it up to brush his hair back as he shook his head. "During your middle school years was when this started. It's only now I understand why. Whatever consequences this may bring, it's up to you to take care of it. I'm only asking you not to bring further shame to the family name. Am I understood young lad?" Fugaku asked sternly.

"Yes father."

"You are grounded starting tomorrow and until your suspension ends. No internet, no phones, no communication with the outside world and no game consoles. You are not allowed to leave the house. I hope this will give you time to reflect upon your actions son." Fugaku gave a deep sigh, one of clear disappointment and somehow, of sympathy to his son. "I'm leaving for a business dinner tonight along with your mother and we won't be back until midnight."

"Yes father." And with that, Fugaku left the mansion and went to his car where his wife was waiting. They zoomed off with Sasuke still looking at the front door that was left open by his father. Or at least someone who looked like his father.

The raven couldn't believe what just happened. Did his father just say those words? Was being grounded all that he received for punishment considering what he did? And that tone, was his father not really shouting at him?

He stood there behind the door for about 5 minutes, musing on the exchange that had happened between him and his father. He couldn't think of any reason as to why his father would act and speak that way. Not when he would always scold Sasuke when he was little just because he got a B or failed to meet his expectations. But what Sasuke did, it was graver than those and still his father acted kinder than what Sasuke expected.

Sasuke closed the door and went upstairs to his room. He didn't feel like eating right now. All he wanted to do was lay in bed and sleep this off but he knew he couldn't. Not when so many thoughts plagued his mind.

He wanted to apologize to Naruto but how could he? How could he when he hurt Kiba, the blond's boyfriend and Naruto himself, breaking his nose and made him go into hysteria. Even Sasuke was shocked at what happened to Naruto, on how he looked so scared when he saw the blood on his face. How he screamed for people to stay away from him.

It was his fault. He knew it was. Whatever he did to Kiba, hurt Naruto more than it looks and he knew it. Their friendship, what was going to happen to it? He wondered about that. He remembered the time when he saved Naruto from those seniors that almost beat him up. How he told Naruto that he despised what they did. And now looking at himself, he wasn't that much different from them. He let his jealousy take over him and acted on impulse.

How the hell was he going to apologize to Naruto? How could he still make him his? Most likely impossible now. He wanted to sleep. Wanted to escape from this. And somehow the ringing of his phone gave him a little break from it.

"Hello." Sasuke said as he answered his phone.

"Hi little brother. Been in trouble lately?" Itachi said, clearly aware of the situation Sasuke was in now. Sasuke was surprised that his brother called. They didn't really talk much ever since he went to college.

"Fuck you Itachi." But still, Sasuke greeted him the way a little brother does.

"Sorry Sasuke, but I don't do incest." Itachi laughed.

"Just shut up and tell me want you want already." Sasuke sneered at his brother, annoyed at their exchange.

"Alright. I've heard about what happened earlier. Mother told me."

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Sasuke challenged.

"I'm just saying, I accept you for what you are Sasuke. I have my suspicions about you and now it looks like they were proven correct." Sasuke could hear the soft chuckle from the other end of the receiver and it irritated him. Itachi seemed to know almost everything and he hated him for that.

"How nice of you Itachi to accept that your little brother is gay." Sasuke said sarcastically.

"That's easy to accept Sasuke, since I'm gay too." That shut Sasuke up.

"You… you're kidding me right?" His brother? His perfect older brother, the pride of the Uchiha family, was like him?

"No I'm not." Itachi said, his tone clearly saying he's serious.

"Itachi I swear if you're toying with me." Sasuke warned. Itachi loved to tease Sasuke ever since they were kids and the younger knew to be careful about believing everything his brother says.

"I've known that I'm gay for a long time Sasuke. And you wouldn't believe me if I told that even mom and dad know it."

"What? They know? But why didn't anyone tell me?" Damn it. Why was he the only one left in the dark? If Itachi had told him before then maybe he could have helped Sasuke and he wouldn't have ended up in this situation right now.

"Probably since I told them only after graduating high school, a little more than a year ago. Maybe they didn't tell you because you might become one, but that didn't work out as they thought."

"It's hard to believe all this." Sasuke said, still not sure whether to believe his brother. This could still possibly be one of those games he liked to play.

"So, how did father react when he learned about it and you beating up the Inuzuka kid?" Itachi questioned.

"He said he was very disappointed in me and that I was grounded for the whole week of my suspension. Nothing else. I can't even believe it myself. I thought he was going to have me whipped or something." And Sasuke wasn't joking.

"Foolish little brother, there are too much you don't know." Itachi chuckled.

"And you're saying you do?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, though invisible to Itachi who was talking to him over the phone.

"I absolutely understand father's actions. If you want me to tell you, make sure to be alone and that no one will hear you. This is a secret only I know. And it's about father." Hearing that this was about their father, the curiosity was aroused in Sasuke. He needed to know about this. His father was a mysterious man and he would do anything to know more about him, especially a secret.

"Will this explain his actions earlier?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm sure it will."

"Okay. Tell me." It wasn't a request but more of a command.

"Impatient are we, Sasuke? Hmm. Why don't you eat first and then we'll talk after an hour."

"What? No, tell me now." Sasuke couldn't wait any further. He needed to know this now. He wanted an explanation of his father's actions. And damn Itachi for having this control over him.

"Eat first. I know you won't end up eating at times like this. I'll call you later. And since you won't sleep before that time, you'll probably think it will be better to eat while you wait. I only care for my little brother."

"Fine. I'll wait then." He said defeated.

"Bye Sasuke."

BBEEEEEEEEPP

'Not even bothering to say goodbye to me.' Itachi thought.

...

"Hmmm, that was the best chocolate meal I've had in years. Let's get another round Naruto."

"Uh Kiba, we've already finished the whole batch."

"Did we? What a shame. I wanted more of it."

"I told you you'd like it. But three servings are enough for each of us I think. I'm tired Kiba. I wanna go to sleep." Naruto said as he hugged his pillow.

"Okay then. Where can I take a bath?" Kiba asked. If he was going to be sleeping with his boyfriend, and he meant sleeping on the same bed together, then he wanted to at least smell fresh. And a warm shower was really what his body needed right now.

"There's a bathroom down the hall. You can borrow some of my clothes." Naruto pointed at his drawer. Kiba closed up on the drawer and pulled the one on top and began searching for anything he could wear, and hopefully not orange. As much as he loves his boyfriend, there was still no way he was going to wear one of those.

"We're not going to school tomorrow right?" Kiba asked as he combed through the clothes inside the drawer.

"Yeah. I don't think I'm up for it. Jiraiya's going to agree but what about you? Have you told your parents?"

"Oh yeah about that, thanks for reminding me Naruto. I'll ask my mom and hopefully she'll agree." Kiba finished searching Naruto's drawers and got a clean towel, loose shorts and a white tee. "Ah I almost forgot. I still don't even know how she's gonna react finding out that I have a boyfriend. I wonder why she hasn't called already, not that I want her too."

"I'm sure she'll take it okay Kiba. You're sister seems pretty supportive so maybe Hana can convince her if ever she can't see that we're perfect for each other." Kiba could hear that Naruto got out of bed and was walking towards him.

"I hope you're right Naruto. I just, I still don't know what to do. I didn't really plan on coming out today. The whole school will probably know by tomorrow or it might even be posted on Facebook already. That's why I can't go to school tomorrow yet." Kiba sighed. He was telling the truth. He was afraid. He wasn't prepared for this but now that it's here, he had no other choice but to face it.

"I know it's hard Kiba. But I'll be there. We'll go through it together. And we have our friends to back us up." Naruto hugged him, somehow giving the confidence he has to Kiba. The brunet felt reassured by his boyfriend's words and sighed, feeling a little burden lifted off from him.

"I know you'll be there. And that's why even if I am a little scared, I'm not freaking out." Kiba turned around to face his boyfriend. He could see how much care those eyes were showing and he couldn't help but smile. If he has Naruto by his side, he's sure that he'll be able to face it.

"They'll get used to it sometime. We just have to show them that we won't be intimidated by them. I might have messed up before in my previous school but there's no way I'm repeating that. And remember, Sasuke's gonna be joining us too. Even if you must hate him, yeah and even I hate him a tad bit, I'd still help him though."

"I know you care about that jerk but I don't think I can just interact with him the same way you can. Just don't spoil him Naruto. He did something wrong and you can't just forgive him instantly as if nothing happened. Because if you did then a repeat of today's incident would likely happen not so far in the future." Kiba warned him.

"I know that Kiba. But, I think we took too much time conversing and you still have to go take a bath."

"The bath can wait if we have to talk about something important. This is our relationship we're talking about. The bath can wait." Kiba firmly said.

"That may be but still, go on and take it. It feels weird talking to someone who's holding a towel and sleeping clothes about stuff like this." Well, he did have a point.

"Hehe. I guess. So, what do you say about joining me?" Kiba proposed, a smirk on his lips evidently showing.

"Jo-joining yo-you? In the bath?" Naruto blushed. A bath with Kiba. He definitely wanted that.

"Hn. You heard me."

"I ca-can't Kiba. There are other people in the house. They'll know if we took one together." Naruto reasoned out.

"Come on. We've already taken a few baths together. We've even given each other a handful of handjobs and blowjobs." Kiba reminded, making Naruto blush even deeper. He was evil. How could he suggest something Naruto would definitely want to do when he knows they can't? They were at the wrong place and the wrong time.

"Kibaaaa." Naruto whined. "How could you suggest something like that right now? I'm ge…" Wait, there was no way he was saying that. It was too embarrassing.

"You're what?" Kiba tilted his head in fake innocence, with a sly smirk on his lips. Stepping nearer the flustered blond, he reached forward and cupped his boyfriend's crotch, proving his suspicions when he felt the bulge starting to form.

"Oh, you're getting hard. You should just have said so. It's not like we haven't had our share of intimate moments. You shouldn't be embarrassed. Do you want me to take care of this?" Kiba looked up at the blond who had his eyes closed and doing all he could to suppress the moan that was attempting to come out of his mouth as Kiba caressed the blond's erection gently.

"NARUTO!"

The shout of his name from downstairs brought him out of his trance and gave him the power to push Kiba off though he didn't want to. "Can you come down here and help me make dinner?" It was Jiraiya.

"Okay I'm coming down." Naruto shouted back. He looked at Kiba who was clearly frustrated that their activity was interrupted. Naruto gave him a quick kiss before going out the bedroom and down to the kitchen.

"Now how am I going to get rid of this?" Kiba wondered out loud as he looked at the bulge on his pants. "Cold shower? No. I want a warm one. Jerk off? Of course not. Wait I have a better idea. Yeah that would work." Kiba nodded to himself as he got out of the room and then went for the bathroom.

...

"I've heard from the news that there'll be very heavy rain tomorrow, a storm maybe. Classes are suspended." Jiraiya said as he busily chopped the vegetables they'll use for ramen. The blond jumped in excitement when he saw what his godfather was preparing and went straight for the boiling soup to smell its delicious aroma. He loves ramen. And he loves it even more when it was the real thing and not just instant in a cup.

"Oh really? That's great. I don't actually want to go to school tomorrow and so does Kiba, with all that happened you know."

"I haven't told your parents yet about what happened. It was just an accidental punch in the nose and nothing too serious. They could live without knowing about it."

"Thanks for that you old perv."

"Hey what'd I tell you about calling me that huh, kid?" Jiraiya said, putting one hand on his hip.

"Well maybe if you weren't such one then I'd stop calling you that." Naruto argued.

"Just call me Jiraiya." the man said as he turned back to continue his previous veggie-chopping.

"But you're like fifty years old. It's weird calling old people by their first nam… Itai." And the blond received a smack to the head for that comment, a small hill starting to form on his head.

"I am not old." Jiraiya blatantly denied.

"Oh yeah? Just look at your hair, it's white." Naruto pointed out.

"It's been white since I was a kid. Now just let me chop these up Naruto."

"Hai, hai." Naruto giggled. Jiraiya was fun to mess with.

**_DING DONG_**

"Hey can you get the door for me kid?" Jiraiya requested from the blond.

"I'll get it." The two of them heard Nagato shout. Apparently, he was in the living room watching TV.

'I wonder who could be coming this late and in the middle of this heavy rain.' Naruto thought. He went out of the kitchen to see who it could be. And when Nagato opened the door, recognition immediately came into Naruto.

Brown, wild and spiky hair, slit like eyes, prominent canines, and those trademark red fang tattoos. It could only be Kiba's mom.

"KIBA!" the woman shouted. Someone should teach her manners but she's Kiba's mom and if Naruto remembered all the descriptions the dog boy had told him, there was no doubt she was Kiba's mother.

Naruto hurried up to the door, substituting for the freaked out Nagato.

"Uhm, Kiba's upstairs taking a shower, Mrs. Inuzuka." he politely answered.

"Is that so? You must be Naruto." the older woman looked down on him. She was at least 4 inches taller than him meaning she was also taller than Kiba and he'd be lying if he said it didn't make him a bit scared of the woman. And since she was there at their front door then she definitely learned about what happened.

"Yes ma'am."

"I'm Tsume Inuzuka. It's a pleasure to meet my son's boyfriend." She reached out her hand to Naruto. The boy took it and shook hands with her and that's when he felt the incredibly strong and crushing grip of the woman. And not only that. She was looking at him with a smirk. Women don't just smirk. And she was definitely no ordinary woman.

"Please come inside. I'll call Kiba right away."

"Okay then." Tsume put her umbrella beside the door and then stepped inside and sat on the couch. Naruto was about to come upstairs when suddenly he saw Kyuubi running down the stairs and then jumped onto Tsume's lap, excitedly sniffing and licking the woman.

"What are you doing here? Don't tell me Kiba gave you as a gift to his boyfriend." she said looking at Naruto. "So, how's this kit doing? Does he do anything undomesticated?"

"No Tsume-san. Kyuubi's almost like a real dog."

"I'm glad to hear my investment's not a waste. But I can't believe Kiba would just get one of my foxes to give to someone I don't even know. But I must say, you're one cute little boy." Tsume said with a laugh.

"Tha-thank you." Naruto chuckled softly. Did she just call him cute? What the heck is going on here? Dismissing the thought, Naruto ran upstairs to find Kiba already finished and dressed up.

"Kiba it's your mom." he informed.

"I know. I heard her yelling my name not two minutes ago."

"So, go down there."

"Why the heck is she here? Man I am so screwed." Kiba grabbed Naruto arms and looked him straight in the eye, surprising the blond a bit by his actions. "You haven't seen her when she's angry. I'll say this in advance but please don't call the cops if she goes haywire."

"Oohh-kay?"

"I suppose it's better now than later. Let's go down." Kiba said, as if suddenly summoning up the courage needed to face his mom.

The footsteps on the stairs were heard albeit kind of like a footstep every two seconds. Someone really wanted to delay this inevitable confrontation.

"If that's you Kiba stop making me wait and get your ass down here young lad!" Tsume shouted.

"Yes mom." Kiba shuffled down hurriedly. Naruto followed behind him and sat down beside him on the couch.

"So, uh, what brings you here mom?" Kiba innocently asked. Tsume just chuckled and stood up, walking towards her son. She lifted up his chin and inspected her son's face, seeing all the evidence of what happened earlier.

"You look like shit," she blatantly said. "If you want to get yourself in a fight, make sure it's the other kid who's getting these bruises, not you. I told you that you should have taken Karate lessons but you're just too stubborn and won't heed my advice." She didn't have the look of the slightest concern of her son's well-being. It was more like a look of annoyance. Annoyance that her son got beaten by another kid and it was embarrassing. Tsume sat back down on the couch.

"The principal called me but I couldn't make it there because I was busy. It was way too long since I've been called because of you. And then I headed straight to your dorm after work to find that you're not there. Thankfully Shino's a good boy and told me where you were. And if my deduction's correct, you're planning on sleeping over here since you already took a shower and are now dressed in another boy's clothes, clearly one for sleeping. I should ground you but it's not like you live at our house." There was a moment of silence between them. Tsume was thinking of what to say next and Kiba just didn't know what to say.

"And to think all of this was because there was this kid who was jealous of you because he can't have your boyfriend." She combed her hair back. Even she found what happened kind of ridiculous. Sixteen year olds fighting for a boy? Kids these days.

"Are you mad? For finding out your son is bi and has a boyfriend?" Kiba looked at her when he asked the question. If anyone's reaction is the most important, it would be from his mother.

"Oh so you're not gay." she said surprised. "Well, it doesn't really matter if you're gay or bi. You still like guys. And it's not like I hadn't known this before."

"Wait you knew?" Now that, Kiba didn't expect.

"Hah of course I knew. Better lock the door in your room every time you wanna do something in secret. It was late at night and your TV was still blaring and I went up to turn it off, finding you asleep on the bed with a gay manga on your hand." she told him.

Kiba blushed at this information. He didn't expect he was discovered in such an embarrassing way. Where was his dignity now?

"Anyway, I just wanna check up on you. And about this having a boyfriend stuff, I'm fine with it. You do know how to pick a boyfriend. Haha." Again she gave a laugh. She liked to laugh, always looking carefree about things. Kiba exhaled a deep breath in relief. He thought his mom was going to kill him but in an opposite turn of events, she actually accepted him and his boyfriend.

"Ehem," (Clears throat.) The three looked up to find Jiraiya holding a cup of coffee. "Would you like some coffee, Tsume."

"Thank you Jiraiya-sensei. Coffee would be nice." Tsume said as she accepted the cup.

"Se-sensei?" Both boys asked in surprise. They knew each other?

"Tsume was once a former student of mine, when I still was a Karate instructor." Jiraiya handed Tsume the cup and she took it, inhaling the sweet aroma of the coffee. "That must be why her reaction was being irritated that her son was the one who was roughed up rather than going mother mode to Kiba."

"I can't help it. I beat up guys bigger than me back in the days. It's just that Kiba was too absorbed in sculpting his body that he didn't take up Karate. And now he learns which is more important. Strength alone doesn't get you to win fights. It's skill." She took a sip of her coffee and placed it down on the small table. "This is good coffee Jiraiya. How'd you make something so fast?"

"I was actually brewing before you came." the white-haired man said.

"Anyway, I have to get going. I can't have this storm get stronger. News said it would rain harder starting midnight. And before I go son, remember to ignore whatever the kids at school will throw at you once you get back. It happens only during the first two weeks. They'll leave you alone once the interest dies down." Tsume advised. "Oh and Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"If my son ever does anything to hurt you, just tell me okay. But remember if you hurt my son, (knuckles crack), I'd be forced to do the same to you, although physically." she warned with an evil look on her face that scared the shit out of the blond. Seeing the reaction of Naruto, Tsume burst out laughing.

"Hahaha. Can't take on a joke huh?" She rested her hand on the blond's shoulder and patted it in assurance that she was in fact just joking. Her mind worked so differently from the norm.

"Mom that was not funny." Kiba told her. He didn't want Naruto to be traumatized by her mother and with what Tsume was doing, it was possible.

"Okay, okay. I'm going. And by the way, you're a really handsome boy Naruto, just like your father." Tsume said.

Naruto just nodded, not being able to produce a sound with his voice. And staying true to her word, Tsume drank the last of her coffee, went out the door and drove away with her car.

"What just happened?" Naruto asked his boyfriend.

"My mom came. That's what happened." replied Kiba.

...

'How long is he going to take? It's been an hour and a half.' Sasuke thought. He was lying on his bed and was tempted to call Itachi's phone right now. But he knew that when Itachi said he will be the one to call, Itachi wouldn't answer his phone if it was Sasuke who called.

**_RING!_**

"Finally!" he sighed in relief. He answered the phone within the first ring, being the phone clutched into his hands the whole time.

"That was an hour and a half Itachi. You made me wait a half hour more." he shouted in exasperation.

"Pipe down Sasuke. I just wanted to make sure you've eaten." Itachi gave as an excuse.

"Tell me about it. Now." the younger commanded.

"I'll tell you but first, promise me you'll try to fix things with that Naruto kid." Itachi requested. "His brother's not going to like this."

"You know his brother?"

"We have classes together. It seems he still doesn't know about the incident because he's not yet storming my room as we speak."

"Can you just tell me this thing about father? I'm already in my room and I've made sure no one's going to hear me." Sasuke impatiently said.

"Not until I tell you this first Sasuke. I know that you like Naruto even before now. Kurama told me. He told me about how you looked at his little brother during his birthday."

"What? How close are you two anyway? Why would he tell you something like that?"

"I just want things to be okay between our family and Naruto's." Itachi said, not bothering to answer Sasuke's question.

"Why do you care about that so much? It's not like our two families even have a relationship to begin with." His brother wasn't making any sense. Between their families? What was he talking about?

"And that's where you're wrong Sasuke."

"You mean there is?"

"This happened quite a long time ago. I was about 6 years old at that time. You were just 3 years old and probably wouldn't remember any of this. This incident that father's most likely ashamed of." And Itachi started his tale.

"Incident?"

"Just let me speak Sasuke. It's better you learn this now. I know father won't be too happy but I believe this is for the best. So just zip your lips and listen."

It was thirteen years ago. I still remember that day somehow. Father invited guests, an old friend along with his family. It was Minato Namikaze, the only fighter who defeated father in a tournament. He was his best friend. I learned about this fact when I asked our cousin Obito. Moving on, with him was of course his wife, Kushina and their son Naruto who was the same age as you Sasuke.

I remember Naruto clinging closely to his mother's skirt. He looked scared when father bent down to say hi to his best friend's son. But then I heard someone running down the stairs. It was you Sasuke, peeking from the handrails of the stairs. You came near me and asked me who they were and I told you that I didn't know. It was then that father noticed the two of us and called for us to come. He introduced us to the other family. I can't recall how but somehow you and Naruto ended going upstairs to your room to play. I went back to my own room to study. It was boring listening to the guests.

After I finished studying, I walked down the hall to get to the stairs and then I heard the voice of father and Minato from the veranda. I got curious as to what they were talking about and it was apparent by how they spoke to each other that they were friends. I went to a room adjacent and peeked from its window and then I saw it. Something I shouldn't have. Father kissed him, and for a while they didn't move away from each other. Then after about maybe 5 seconds, Minato pushed father away causing him to hit the wall and then Minato went back inside the house. Father stood there for a long time in the veranda before he followed in. He was probably in shock. I went down the hall to see what would happen and then I saw Minato's wife fetching Naruto from your room saying that they were leaving.

Minato bowed down and apologized for having to leave so early and said that they have an emergency to attend to. Mother believed his excuse and bid them farewell, father trying his best to look natural beside her. His expression was sad. He must have felt rejected but trying his best not to show it.

And that was the last time the Namikaze family ever visited us. The only contact that happened after that if I believe was my match with Naruto's older brother Kurama and your fight with Naruto in the Karate tournament.

I share some classes with Kurama in uni but I believe even he doesn't know about that especially since that he wasn't there during that visit. And so, what I'm trying to tell you Sasuke is that father may as well be gay and was in love with that man. But because of that incident, they've cut off their friendship and now, it's almost like the same things happening over again, but instead of father and Minato, it's their sons.

"I don't believe it. That just sounds so stupid. What are you crazy Itachi, creating a story like that? If I've met Naruto before, then why don't I remember that day?" Sasuke said in outburst. It was stupid, clearly a story that could only be found in romance fictions that girls like to read.

"You were too young Sasuke and what, you've only been with Naruto for like 2 hours. What makes you think you'll remember someone within that time when you have not seen him for 13 years?" Itachi argued.

"And how come you remember it?"

"I was 6 years old. My memory was of course not the same as yours. And it was not every day you see you father kiss someone, especially a man, other than his own wife." Itachi explained. "So I'm telling you Sasuke. That must be why father acted so different a while ago as you've told me Sasuke. He could relate to you because he's like you. And he's probably thinking hard about how he's going to meet up with Naruto's father because of this incident you've made. A meeting between them may or may not be necessary but he must be thinking about it. His son did punch his former love's son, accident or not."

"Even though if what you've said is true and that incident really did happen, all of this thing about father being in love with that man is just your assumption." And Sasuke had a point. They couldn't just go on assuming things about other people when they don't know what really went on between them.

"Assumptions it may be but still I think you should know. Best friends don't just kiss each other on the lips Sasuke. Anyway, it's up to you on how you would infer from it. My advice would be…"

**Knock knock knock.** Sasuke could hear from the background of the phone. **Itachi! Are you there?**

"Sorry Sasuke, some other time. Someone's at the door." And with that, Itachi hung up.

"Damn it!" Sasuke threw his phone on the bed. Who was that person on the door that Itachi had to hang up on Sasuke? How important are they anyway? There was still so much he wanted to ask his brother. If he already had much to think about tonight then that thing about his father only added more. It was going to be a long night.

A/N:

Next chapter will be more interesting. Some lime and then Naruto and Kiba going to school as boyfriends. What could happen? Anything of course. Probably homophobes sprouting out of nowhere and spray paints. And who was that who was calling Itachi?

Tell me what you think about the chapter. Reviews are highly welcomed. Reviews are fuels. If there is no fuel, then how would I work with the next chapter?


	17. Look Who Decided To Show Up

Chapter 17

**Look Who Decided To Show Up**

FLASH. SNAP. FLASH. SNAP. FLASH. Giggle. SNAP. FLASH.

Grumbles. Groans.

'What's that flashing light?'

And as Naruto's eyes opened, FLASH, he was slightly blinded again, making it more difficult for his eyes to adjust. It was only after about 10 seconds did he realize that the source of those flashes of light and clicking sounds is a camera. He looked to see who was taking the pictures and was shocked to see it was none other than his mom.

As if adrenaline had surged through his body, he flew off the bed and tried to grab the camera from his giggling mother.

"Mom what are you doing? Give me that camera!" he commanded in panic.

"Oh no Naru-chan. You and Kiba look so cute together I just couldn't resist." His mom continued giggling and evaded his arms that were reaching towards the evil device.

"Mom give it back!"

"Nuh uh." Kushina placed the camera behind her and even if the blond tried to place his arms around her, she easily evaded her son's attempts on getting the camera.

"Ne Naru-chan, you really shouldn't prance around while you're only in your boxers. And I think there's something going on down there." She pointed beneath her son's waistline.

Naruto stopped reaching for the camera. He looked down and indeed he was only in his boxers and that a very noticeable tent was there. His face turned red in embarrassment as he went for the bed and grabbed the sheets to cover himself up. His mother just saw him with a morning wood and the adrenaline surge most likely helped with that too.

"Mom get out of this room! Why are you even here in the first place?" Naruto shouted.

"Oh just passing by before I go to a meeting here in Konoha. And what a surprise waited for me. You gotten laid yet?" she asked bluntly.

"What?! Did you just ask that from your own son?" Naruto couldn't believe it. His mother just said that?

"What's the big deal? Kurama got laid when he was younger than your age now and you two just being in your boxers was very suggestive." she reasoned.

"Stop it. Kiba might hear you." Naruto was pleading now. He knew his mother was evil but he never expected it to be this much. It must be her yaoi fan girl mode being turned on.

"Unnnn."

It was by then that he heard Kiba grumbling and then he saw him sitting up and opening his eyes which were still in daze.

"Naruto why the heck are you being so loud on a morning of a day without class?" When his eyes regained focus, he saw the woman standing at the door who was giving him a smile and he looked down to realize he was only in his boxers. He quickly searched for a blanket but unfortunately Naruto already grabbed it. With no other choice, Kiba grabbed the pillow behind him and covered himself up with it, managing to conceal only some of his body. He was just seen almost naked by his boyfriend's mom.

"Hey Kiba-kun. Good morning." Kushina greeted him with an innocent smile.

Kiba blushed and was at a loss for words. How could she say something like that in this situation? And why was she here in the first place? They locked the door last night. He made sure of it.

"Mom I told you to get out of here!" Naruto shouted again but this time he pushed his mother away and out of the door, successfully. "And don't you do that again. Grr."

Naruto locked the door and pushed a chair behind the lock so that even if the evil woman managed to unlock it again, she wouldn't be able to open it.

"Did I really just get seen half-naked by your mother?" Kiba asked, still doubting whether it did happen or maybe he was just having a bad dream.

"Unfortunately yes." Naruto replied.

"Well that was… embarrassing. Did she see us sleeping together?"

"Yeah." Naruto said, purposely not mentioning the fact that pictures of them sleeping next to each other were taken. 'I think it's better if you didn't know. I'll deal with her myself.'

"Hey you're hard." Kiba pointed at the tent on Naruto's boxers that he noticed.

"Uhm, I guess I got too excited when I tried to get her out of the room. You know, adrenaline rush." Naruto said as an excuse.

"Want me to take care of it?" Kiba smirked.

'Give me a blowjob. Of course yes!' Naruto's mind yelled. But of course he wouldn't be that weak to ask. "Don't worry. I can will it away Kiba. And besides, haven't you had enough from last night?"

After everyone else was asleep, Kiba made an effort to wake Naruto up but surprisingly, the blond was thinking the same thing. They had a couple of handjobs, blowjobs, and even 69ers the night before. It took all they had to be as quiet as possible, especially Naruto.

"Oh, I don't think that's enough. And I'm kinda hungry so maybe I could have some breakfast." Kiba said suggestively. Naruto decided that it was enough convincing for him. If Kiba wanted it, then why would he refuse? He was the one who going to receive anyway. Might as well take on the offer. And you know the rest.

...

"Naruto, I don't think I can do this." Kiba admitted nervously as they reached the front of the school entrance. It was already Monday and also the day Kiba was dreading to come. Sweat could be seen dripping from his forehead. Whether from the natural heat produced by their walking or just from his anxiety, Naruto had bet it's the latter because he too was feeling the same.

"Come on Kiba, we can do this." Naruto told his boyfriend encouragingly. "I'm a little bit scared too but these things pass. Give it a week or two and they'll leave us be."

"Do you really think it would be best for us to arrive at school together?"

"Well do you want to go alone?"

"Uhh, I guess not." Kiba replied. There was no way he would be able to stand all the stares that will be awaiting him alone. He so did not plan for this. 'This is all because of that bastard Uchiha that we're in this situation.' he cursed in his mind.

"Then let's go and pretend that we're going to school just like any other day before."

"It's worth a try. Hehe." Kiba managed to force out a chuckle.

They entered the gate and it seemed that most of the people were minding their own businesses and the others focused on getting to class. It was only about 10 minutes before the first period started and it was because both of them really wanted to stay at home for a longer period of time before they face this upcoming memorable event that they didn't arrive as early as they usually do.

As the two neared the building, the students around them started to notice their presence and the whisperings started. Both boys could see that both of them were the center of attention from almost all who were in the vicinity. They tried to walk as casual as possible but once they reached the hallways, even more whisperings, especially between the girls started.

Girls squealed, some took out their phones to take a picture, others gossiped but they were nothing compared to the boys who looked at them. Kiba could see the disgust in their faces, especially of those in the same grade as they were and the seniors who knew him and all he could do was grab Naruto's arm so they could walk faster and get to their room as soon as possible.

When they got to their room, the same thing happened as all their classmates turned to look at them as they entered. Both quickly made it to their seats and wished that time flew faster and for the bell to ring so that their classmates would leave them alone.

"Inuzuka!" A guy called as he approached them. "Are the rumors true huh? Are you and Uzumaki dating?" The mocking tone was clear as he spoke making Kiba a little pissed. But he managed to control his temper and just ignored the guy.

"Hey I'm asking you a question, Inuzuka!" the guy reiterated, pissed at being ignored.

"Yes we are dating! If you have a problem with it Zaku, you and I could take it outside!" Kiba challenged as he stood up, slamming his fist on the table, angered by Zaku's display of arrogance.

"Tch, here you are challenging me when you got beat up just last week. Are you trying to make me laugh you faggot?"

"GGRRR." Kiba reached and grabbed Zaku by his shirt's collar and was ready to release a punch but thankfully Naruto reacted quickly and pulled Kiba back down.

"Kiba let go of him. You don't want to end up like Sasuke." Naruto reminded him. As much as the dog boy wanted to punch the guy's face and break his teeth, he didn't want a week of suspension because that would mean losing time together with Naruto and also one hell of a beating from his ferocious mother.

"Now, now Zaku. Why don't you just get back to your seat and leave Inuzuka and Uzumaki alone, huh?" Looking behind Zaku, they saw that it was Suigetsu who spoke and now had his right hand placed on Zaku's left shoulder.

"You wouldn't want me to call Juugo now would you?" Suigetsu threatened him.

"No." Zaku gulped. Just the mention of the huge guy's name was enough to make him back down and go back to his seat.

"Thank you Suigetsu." Naruto said to him.

"No problem. Though this one's not for free. You better get ready 'cause I'm gonna ask you about what happened last Thursday that had Sasuke suspended." said the silver-haired boy.

"What, didn't he tell you what happened?" Kiba asked, surprised that even he didn't know about it.

"I couldn't contact him and he didn't call any of us. If I know Sasuke, there's probably some other reason he didn't. If he didn't even call Naruto, then maybe he just couldn't and not that he didn't want to. Anyway, I'll see you at lunch for the details." With that, Suigetsu returned to his seat. Thankfully the other students went to their own business but both boys could still see that most of them were talking about them, doing their best to look natural.

"What do you think he meant when he said Sasuke couldn't call?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know. But you know what Naruto," Kiba said, his head down and facing the table. "I think things are going to get much worse than this."

"For the record though, I still hope not." Naruto said though he knew there was no chance of that happening.

...

"So that's what happened?" Suigetsu raised an eyebrow and then took a sip from his tumbler. It was lunch and as a sort of fee for Suigetsu who saved their asses earlier, Naruto and Kiba were forced to tell all about the incident last week.

"Yes, that's it. Now go back to your table and bug someone else would you." Kiba said annoyed. Well he really wasn't annoyed of Suigetsu. It was just that every time they tell people what happened, Kiba's dignity was sort of like getting chipped of little by little.

"So the reason why Sasuke was suspended is because Kiba couldn't fight back and was beat up?" Suigetsu asked with a poorly concealed laugh as even he was having a hard time believing what they told him.

"Okay you know already. Can't you leave even a little bit of my dignity here huh Suigetsu? I can't fight back to a black belt okay. It's perfectly reasonable." the dog boy said in defense of his dignity.

"Let's go back Suigetsu. We already know what happened so we can now return to our table." Juugo said to him calmly. Despite being a huge and scary looking guy, Juugo was never really for violence, unless given a good enough reason. And if a good enough reason was presented, then it's hell broken loose.

"No we're not leaving yet." All of them heard someone from behind them said, appearing to be Karin. "Not unless I hear from Naruto myself. So are the rumors true that Sasuke likes you?"

"Well, he really wouldn't want me to say something about him without permission but since… well it's almost…" Naruto fumbled. This was Sasuke's girlfriend and thanks to him, things would most likely go bad between them now that the school knows that Sasuke's gay.

"Just answer 'YES' or 'NO'?!" Karin raised her voice, impatience showing and having about 80% of the crowd looking at her but she looked back at them with a glare that had them minding their own business in an instant. She looked back at Naruto and saw him gulp.

"Yes." Naruto replied in fear of the woman. She really reminded him of his mother.

"I knew it." Karin said. "That's why he was so insistent on becoming friends with you. I know he's gay but I didn't expect for his secret to come out sooner. Now I have no choice but to stop being his fake girlfriend. Oh, even if it was just pretend, the fact that I could be near him and hold him and kiss him was enough. Sasuke's just so hot. Oh his skin is so pale and those jet-black eyes…"

"Sheesh, just look at yourself Karin. You look pitiful fantasizing on a gay guy." Suigetsu remarked.

"And why do you care you water-loving freak?" she snapped.

"Come on don't say things like that Karin. I'm hurt." Suigetsu said, faking his facial expressions.

"Grr. I'm going back to our table. I've confirmed it anyway. You really irk me most of the times, Suigetsu." Karin adjusted her glasses and made her way back to their table, the other students on her way taking different routes to avoid her bad case of PMS.

"She's just mad that she can't pretend to be Sasuke's girl anymore. And probably embarrassed that others know why. See you later at Japanese class, Naruto." Suigetsu waved at him as he and Juugo went off to follow the pissed-off Karin, leaving Naruto, Kiba and their group a little stunned as to what just happened.

...

"Where do you think you're going Inuzuka?" a boy asked, blocking the way towards the locker rooms. It was none other than Zaku.

"We have gym class Zaku, so Naruto and I are going inside the locker room to change, if you're dumb enough to realize that yourself." Kiba retorted. 'This guy again huh? Stupid homophobes.'

"What did you say, you fag?" Zaku countered.

"I don't like repeating myself so why don't you just move along and let us through? Unless you want me to force myself in." Kiba threatened.

"There's no way I'm letting two faggots like you go inside while we change our clothes. Our bodies are meant for show to girls only and not disgusting freaks like you."

"Che, who'd want to look at a skinny guy like you? There's no way that even a girl or a gay guy would check you out." Naruto, this time spoke up. "If anyone has a body to look at, it's Kiba."

"Ew, you guys are disgusting." Zaku literally cringed at Naruto's statement.

"What is this commotion about?" A very familiar voice came up from behind them, making all three of them look up. "The locker room is school property and I'm your teacher so Zaku my youthful student, you have no right whatsoever to not let Kiba and Naruto pass. If I were you I'd use my youthful energy and start running 5 laps around the basketball court right now. Now go Zaku, my young student, unless you want me to make that 20 laps."

"Ye-yes Mr. Guy." Zaku ran off but not without giving a death glare to the two boys.

"Now, why don't you change into your gym clothes so we can start our session? Be ready in two minutes or it'll be 10 laps for you." the man shouted with undying spirit.

"Haaahhh." Both of them sighed.

"Youthful spirits you two!" Guy reminded them.

"YEEEAAAAYYYY!"

...

'I finally made it. If I'm not mistaken this should be his house.' Sasuke thought as he arrived in front of Naruto's home. The raven was breathing heavily and sweat was dripping from his forehead, even if the weather was cold and light snow had started falling. It's not every day you have to do a 3 km run especially if you have your own limo. But he had to do this. No matter what happens afterwards, this was not something he would just leave undone.

Slowly making his way up the steps towards the door with his heart pounding from nervousness, he took a deep breath before pressing the doorbell found on the side.

DING DONG.

'It's now or never.' he mumbled to himself.

Expecting the door to be opened by Naruto, or by the others who lived there, Sasuke was shocked that it was the last person he wanted to see right now who opened it for him.

"Uchiha." The greeting reeked of hatred when the boy who opened the door said it. Inuzuka. "And I thought my day couldn't get any worse. What are you doing here?" Kiba snarled.

"I came to see Naruto." Sasuke got straight to his point, unaffected by the challenging tone of Kiba. He didn't want to see the brunet right now. When he planned on escaping his house to go see the blond himself, never did it cross his mind that it was possible for the Inuzuka to be at the blond's home.

"He's out."

"Where is 'out' then?"

"He helped Jiraiya shop for some winter supplies." The impatience was obviously seen in the Inuzuka's action and his disinterest in answering the raven's question.

"When will he be coming back?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions but nonetheless I do not know."

"I have something to tell him."

"You have something to tell him? Let's see then. Oh wait. Aren't you about 4 days late for that?" Kiba said sarcastically.

"I know I am but I have my reasons and I would like to wait for him here. You wouldn't mind would you?" Sasuke challenged. Well at least he was hoping that the Inuzuka would let him. If he knew Naruto even for a little bit, it was most likely that the blond would not easily judge him for his actions. And because Kiba's his boyfriend, he hated to even think about it, it was most likely the brunet would let him wait for the blond. He's here to fix the mess he made.

"Wait on the couch." Kiba said to him, deciding to let the raven in. He knew that Naruto wanted to talk to Sasuke and if the blond learned that Kiba prevented it from happening, Naruto would be disappointed. Sasuke followed the brunet into the living room and sat on the couch. He saw that Yahiko was also there and was apparently playing Tekken Tag Tournament 2 with the Inuzuka. It was the game he gave Naruto for his birthday.

"So Sasuke, why'd you finally decide to come here? If I'm correct, never did you ever call or text my cousin to ask how he's doing. You know, after you punched him and made his nose bleed." Yahiko reminded him though his eyes were still glued to the TV screen.

"It's not that I didn't want to. It's because I couldn't." the raven answered. He was telling the truth but he didn't want anyone else asking him about what happened the week before. He came here to talk to Naruto, and apologize to him for what he did.

Yahiko looked at the raven as if studying him but soon returned his focus on the screen. The older teen didn't really want to get involved with this issue but he was curious on why Sasuke would be coming here at this hour, sweating and breathing heavily.

The raven adjusted slightly on the couch to get a good sitting position. From the corner of his eyes he could see the Inuzuka staring at him as if he were a piece of meat that the boy would want to rip apart. Honestly, Sasuke could as well think the same things but not now. Not when he still have to think about the words he should say once Naruto arrives.

"I don't like you Uchiha." he heard Kiba say straightforwardly. Sasuke couldn't expect anything else from a person he bruised up. But he didn't care what the Inuzuka thought of him. He didn't like him too anyway. And he came here for Naruto, not him.

"I suppose you wouldn't." he said back. Yahiko did a quick look at the two boys. He wasn't expecting a meeting like this to happen today. Not here and also not when he was around. But it was better that he was because who knows how soon it would be before these two are at each other's throats again.

"Tch. I wonder how my boyfriend will react when he sees you here." Kiba wondered out loud, enough to be heard by the raven and at hearing the word 'boyfriend' again, Sasuke tensed up. He hated hearing it. It was that word that made his chest tighten every time he heard it. It made him lose control before and now the Inuzuka was clearly rubbing it on his face that he was the one able to say it and not him.

On the other hand, Kiba could clearly see the reaction the Uchiha gave when he said that word. 'Looks like he still hasn't accepted it.' he thought. Kiba of course never would have thought that the raven would come here and at a time that Naruto was out. He better say the things he wanted now before Naruto came. This was the one who gave those punches to him and the one who dared threaten him using Akamaru, be it that it was just a ruse or not.

Even if Kiba knew that Naruto was mad at Sasuke, it was also visible that Naruto still worried about him. Sasuke is Naruto's friend and the blond was never too quick to judge people because of some mistakes, not when they're his friends. Naruto was a friendly person and Kiba knew that the blond would do anything to keep his bonds of friendship strong, even if one of his friends may have wronged him.

But he was not Naruto. And Sasuke was not his friend. It was really tempting him to get his payback on the raven.

"Thanks to you Uchiha, now the whole school knows our secret." he said sardonically. The raven glared at him but Kiba ignored it. "It wasn't that bad for me though. I don't give a damn 'bout what they think of me. But I'm sure it won't be the same for you. Beating up gays back in middle school, just as a cover up for your own sexuality. I'd be careful if I were you once you come back. Just imagine what Kidōmaru, Sakon, Ukon and Jiroubo's plan of action will be to learning about how the Uchiha whom they ganged up with when they beat up those kids in middle school is actually a target for them too." Kiba threw with arrogance. Arrogance that if he did not keep in check could have him receiving more than bruises on his face. But he wasn't done yet.

"You better hide behind Juugo so your homophobic pals wouldn't be able to lay a hand on you once they decide to beat you up for being such a hypocritical asshole."

"Kiba that's enough!" Yahiko warned, watching them from the side. Both haven't noticed but Yahiko had paused the game, seeing it was getting serious. Kiba immediately stopped as he heard the tone of Yahiko's voice. Sasuke just sat there with his head down. It was taking all he could to keep his control. Kiba was right but Sasuke did not want to hear that.

"Kiba, I know how much uncomfortable it is for you having Sasuke here and how much you just want to take your anger out on him but Naruto would not appreciate your actions and words right now. Just calm yourself down until Naruto comes home. You're losing your cool." Yahiko advised.

"Fine. I'm going upstairs." Kiba said. It was for the better. Even if he knew he wasn't strong enough to take on Sasuke, just seeing the other guy's face was making his blood boil. He wanted to land a punch on him, just a single punch that will knock him out till next week. He could do it. He's strong and with all this hate fueling him, it's possible. But Naruto wouldn't appreciate that so he climbed upstairs before he did something he'd regret.

"I'm sorry about that Sasuke. You did give him a good beating though so what else would you expect?" Yahiko pointed out.

"I know. I really just want to talk to Naruto."

"Why is that?"

"Of course to apologize."

"He won't forgive you." Yahiko told him.

"How would you know?"

"Because your fault is not on Naruto." Yahiko looked at the direction on the staircase and Sasuke understood what he meant. "I'll call Naruto for you. Maybe I can get him to go home faster." 'But I won't tell him that it's you.'

"Please do. I don't have much time." Sasuke begged, a surprise for someone who's an Uchiha.

...

DING DONG

"I'll get it." Yahiko volunteered. It had been 40 minutes since Sasuke arrived and from the call he made to Naruto, he was sure it was the blond who just arrived. He went to the door and opened it.

"Tadaima. Hey Yahiko-niisan." Naruto greeted as he went inside. Yahiko saw Jiraiya parking the car and Nagato and Konan carrying the stuff they bought.

"Hey Naruto. You have a visitor." he informed the blond

"A visitor? Why didn't you say so when you called?" Naruto tilted his body so he can see behind Yahiko and that was when he met the person that he's been waiting for 4 days to reach. "Sasuke?"

"Naruto."

"Hey it's been a while temē! You dare do something like that to my boyfriend and then not even call for 4 days? What are you doing here?" he shouted. He sounded angry but more of a forced one. Sasuke noticed this.

"I came here to apologize for punching you last Thursday. So, I'm sorry Naruto." Sasuke said without hesitation and with sincerity.

"How thoughtful of you Sasuke but that was an accidental punch. You don't have to be sorry about that. You're apologizing to the wrong person." Naruto told him.

"But still I hurt you and I am sorry for it." Sasuke reasoned.

"Who'd you hurt more? Me or Kiba?" Naruto retorted.

"I…"

"You see. Wrong person. If you insist on wanting me to forgive you, then it will be because of you apologizing for beating up my boyfriend even if he didn't want a fight. If you apologize to him, then maybe I'll change my mind."

"But that's…" Sasuke didn't know what to say back. Him? Apologize to Inuzuka? There was no way. His pride couldn't handle that. If he ever was the one who asked for an apology then he would be the one who's weaker between them. In fact he hated that guy so why the hell would he apologize to him?

Naruto took a seat on the couch. He saw the game that was paused and he was reminded that it was the game Sasuke gave to him as a gift. It was one of the games they played when he went to the Uchiha's house.

"I should be angry at you Sasuke. You know, really angry. But I'm not. I don't know what's wrong with me because any other person would have broken their friendship if their friend did something like what you've done. But I'm not anyone and I don't want to lose you as my friend. That's why even though there's this side of me that want to punch you right now as payback for my boyfriend, I can't." Naruto confessed.

"Naruto…"

"But even so, I won't forgive for what you did unless you apologize to Kiba." he said sternly.

"Come on Naruto, you don't have to pressure him that much." Kiba's voice sounded from the direction of the stairs, surprising both of them.

"Kiba!" Naruto turned to see his boyfriend. "Have you been listening the whole time?"

"Pretty much. And I think I would like to hear that apology Uchiha." Kiba smirked.

"Don't let this get over your head Inuzuka." Sasuke warned.

"Hey, no evil aura coming out please. And call each other by their first names." Naruto ordered the both of them.

"I'm giving him a chance here Naruto. You said you'd forgive him if he apologized to me. I think I'm good with that." Kiba said. 'I am so definitely good with that. Having Uchiha apologize to me? Now that would be a classic that I should record it.'

'That Inuzuka. How dare he use this on me? But, I have to do it. I don't think I'd be able to not be Naruto's friend anymore. Damn it, I don't want to be just his friend. But what else could I do? Inuzuka may have win Naruto this time but that doesn't mean it will be forever. No matter what, I'll wait for Naruto. And I'll show how wrong he is to be with that mutt.'

"Fine then." Sasuke started. 'If this is what I have to do then so be it.'

"I'm sorry Kiba, for what I did. It was wrong of me and I let my anger take control of me." he said to Kiba, actually sounding sincere. Acting or not, it seemed like Naruto was happy with it.

"Apology accepted. But then again, I don't want you having your hands near my boyfriend." warned Kiba, his possessiveness over the blond showing. Sasuke growled in a low voice. 'Calling him your boyfriend again. Just you wait. You relationship won't last much long anyway.'

"Great. Now all you have to do is shake hands." Naruto said with a grin. Both the other boys glared at him. 'Do I really have to do this?' they both thought.

Sasuke initiated the final symbol of their reconciliation so Kiba had no choice but to do the same. He gripped Sasuke's hand as hard as he could. Sasuke tried to do the same and they glared at each other's eyes. The hand shake was clearly a fight between them and Kiba being the stronger of the two, won.

"Now why don't we play some Tekken now that we've settled our ill feelings towards each other?" Naruto proposed. Sasuke looked at him and smiled. It was more than a week since they last played the game. He didn't expect it to be this easy. To be able to spend time with Naruto again was bliss, even if he had to share it with Inuzuka.

...

A/N:

Hey everyone, check out the archive I made. It's an archive for NaruKiba and KibaNaru stories which are complete or regularly updating. If you're reading this story then you must be a KibaNaru fan so check it out.

community/A-Collection-of-NaruKiba-KibaNaru-Stories/116652/

Leave a review if you can so I know what to improve on.


	18. Stop Flirting With My Boyfriend

Warning: OOCness

Chapter 18

**Stop Flirting With My Boyfriend**

"Come on Sasuke, can't you just let me win against you even once?" Naruto asked in frustration after losing to the raven for the 6th time.

"No."

"But you're so good at this. How else would I beat you?"

"You won't. But you are getting good at the game. You're able to block my attacks now and counter them." the raven remarked despite him saying that the blond was not going to be beating him in the game.

"Hey, do you also use that special eye ability of yours when you play this game?" Naruto asked, remembering what Sasuke had told him the day they sparred in the Uchiha dojo.

"Maybe." Sasuke smirked.

"That's so unfair."

"It's not. The moves of the game are just more predictable once you've seen them all. Real life fighting is not. So don't blame me for being better than you because it's easier for me to play."

"If you say that then maybe I should be sparring with you in real life. Maybe I can throw back some punches for Kiba." Naruto said jokingly but Sasuke and Kiba looked at him to see if he was serious.

"Geez I was just kidding Sasuke." the blond chuckled. "I don't like violence. I only fight for spars and official matches, not because of payback."

Sasuke smiled back, a rare event for other people to see. Even Kiba found it odd to see the Uchiha smile. He didn't really know how much effect Naruto had on the raven. And he didn't like it.

"Naruto, as much as I'd like to stay here for far longer, I have to go. I'm actually grounded and I just escaped from home. And it's obvious Kiba doesn't want me here." Sasuke said. Naruto looked at his boyfriend and indeed he could see what the raven was referring to.

"So you escaped from your house just to get here and apologize to me?" Naruto asked seemingly touched by what the raven did.

"For the most part. But I just wanted to see you too." Sasuke said with another smile. A smile that did not fail to be noticed by the Inuzuka. And Kiba thought he had let it go far enough.

"Would you stop flirting with my boyfriend?!" Kiba commanded in a shout, startling both Sasuke and Naruto.

"Kiba he's not flirting." Naruto said defensively.

"Yeah right he's not." Kiba said sardonically. "What else would you call that? And stop encouraging him. You're friends I get that. But I'm your boyfriend. He cannot be doing that with you." Kiba gave a glare to Sasuke that could match the raven's own. Not that it had any effect on the raven.

It was already a hard thing to watch a guy who was aiming to steal your boyfriend have fun playing together with him but it was too much to see the Uchiha still having the courage to sweet talk with Naruto right in front of him. And Naruto was too oblivious to it.

"Alright I'm leaving." Sasuke informed but not before he gave a challenging look to Kiba. And with that Kiba knew that Sasuke was in no way going to be giving up to get Naruto away from him.

As soon as the Uchiha left, Kiba spoke up to the blond.

"Naruto, we need to talk." he said, wasting no time.

"About what?" Naruto asked, tilting his head.

"About him." There was no need to say the name. Naruto understood that Kiba was referring to Sasuke. "Can we go upstairs? I want to talk in private."

"Yeah, uh sure." Naruto agreed but with great curiosity. If Kiba wanted to speak in private then it must be something very serious they had to talk about. When they reached Naruto's bedroom Kiba started.

"Naruto, this thing with Sasuke…"

"Don't worry about him Kiba. You know I don't like Sasuke that way. He can't get me away from you, if that's what you're thinking." And it appeared that even Naruto knew what Kiba wanted to talk about as soon as Sasuke was brought up.

"How can I be sure? You told me yourself, you've been having make-out sessions with him when we weren't together yet." Kiba reminded him.

"You're bringing that up? So what if I did? Why does it matter now?"

"What if you did? Why does it matter now?" Kiba repeated in a loud and livid tone. "It matters a lot Naruto. Just knowing that you've been doing that with him, I can't help but think you're not telling me the truth. You've made out with him for several occasions. If that implies anything, it must mean you like him too. Because you wouldn't have let him do that if you didn't like him."

The outburst of Kiba had taken Naruto aback. He's never heard Kiba speak to him in that way before. And somehow he felt bad that Kiba didn't trust him enough for him to be thinking that. But he was Naruto. He didn't just assume things. He kept his composure and tried to answer Kiba in as normal a tone as possible.

"Are you really asking me that? Kiba, I do not like Sasuke that way. I've told you, even if he asked me to be his boyfriend so many time before, I have always rejected him because it's you I like. So stop being jealous when there's nothing to be jealous about."

"I am not…" Kiba started, but paused when he knew that he would have been lying if he said that. "Okay, I'm jealous. I'm jealous because you're spoiling him too much. I just can't understand why you would still stay friends with him. I'm trying to understand, but I just can't. Maybe you can enlighten me. Why are you so kind to him? It's like you became friends out of nowhere. Before you always avoided him. What happened?"

"If that would help you understand then I'll tell you." Naruto took a deep breath and started to narrate how he and the raven became friends.

"I used to be afraid of Sasuke. Mainly because you said he was homophobic and he did some things in middle school. So on that day he asked me to join his karate dojo, I immediately refused because I couldn't become friends with someone like him. But that all changed when he told me he's gay and that he likes me. I didn't believe him at first and I tried to avoid him more."

Kiba immediately remembered that Naruto had told him that before, when they were at his home in the countryside. The day Naruto became his boyfriend.

"But one day, an incident happened and I got into a fight with the higher years. I spilled this guy's drink and they almost beat me up. They've made some hits to me that had me on the ground clenching my stomach. But from out of nowhere, Sasuke appeared and fought them. He even broke one of the guys' arm. He took me to his house and had a doctor check up on me. I slept over there and from then on we became friends."

"Someone almost beat you up?" Kiba asked in worry. "But I thought you were good in Karate? How could they hurt you like that?"

"I don't like violence Kiba. I could have fought back but it's just not in my nature."

"So Sasuke saved you from them? And that night!" Kiba exclaimed as the realization hit him. "That was the same night that I sent you all those text message and called your phone for who knows how many times."

"Yes." Naruto nodded,

"So that's what happened."

"I never thought that he could care for me like that. If you could see the worry on his face when he picked me up from the ground in the alley and carried me to his car, you would doubt he's the Sasuke you knew. So I guess I do like Sasuke. Ever since that day. But I've never seen him the way I see you."

"But why did you let him kiss you? Did you like it when kisses you? Even if you do say that you don't like him that way, if you're letting him kiss you, you must have liked it." Kiba almost didn't want to say it. He didn't even want to think about Naruto liking it. But it made sense what he said. It was just up to Naruto how he could change Kiba's thoughts otherwise.

"To be honest Kiba, I… I did somehow liked it when he kissed me. But you should know, whether I liked it or not, or even if it happened for a lot of times," Naruto lifted his head to look at Kiba in the eyes. "I never initiated any of it. I may have let him kiss me and I may have responded, but I never kissed him, just kissed back. Because the only one I would kiss is you Kiba."

At hearing those words, Kiba didn't respond. He didn't know what to say. Naruto needed to know what Kiba thought so instead of waiting for the brunet to speak up, he asked him instead.

"So does that answer your question now Kiba? Please I hope it does because I don't want us fighting over some stupid thing." Naruto pleaded, embracing Kiba as he said the words. Naruto was scared. Kiba felt it and he put a hand to caress the blond locks of Naruto to rest assure him.

"I don't want us to fight either. But please just promise me you won't do anything to encourage him. I know that I should be more trusting but I'm just afraid of what Sasuke might do if you were to keep your guard down."

"Kiba look at me. Sasuke won't. Sasuke's my friend. So I may have been too kind and forgiving to him but you know that it's only you I want. I promise I won't let him flirt with me. And maybe I can tell you one more thing so you won't have to worry." Kiba nodded.

"You know, if I ever did like Sasuke that way then I would have agreed to be his boyfriend long ago. He kept trying to convince me. I made excuses so I could refuse. But the only reason I did not become his boyfriend was because I'm already in love with someone else."

"In love?" Kiba asked in surprise. He knew that Naruto likes him, but to say that he was in love with him was not something he expected. The repeat of what Naruto said made Naruto look at Kiba with a blush.

"Would you really say you're in love with me?" asked Kiba.

"It was the word that came out. You know what I meant." Naruto replied shyly.

"Don't worry. It might be too early to say such things, but maybe I'm also in love with you."

"Well that depends on what you mean by 'in love'."

"I don't really know what it would mean. But I do know that I don't just like you Naruto. I feel something more."

"I feel the same Kiba. Kimi o suki dake ja nai. Kimi o suki datte ba yo." (I don't just like you. I LIKE you.) *datte ba yo is used for emphasis

"Shitteru. Kimi o suki mo dabatte yo. (I know. I like you too dabatte yo.)" Kiba said back. He wasn't going to let Naruto think he didn't understand his Japanese. It was the blond himself who taught him so it would have made him happy to know his tutoring wasn't for nothing. But Naruto, was laughing? Yes, he was laughing. Kiba thought about what he said wrong but he couldn't remember.

"It's datte ba yo, not dabatte yo." Naruto managed to utter in the midst of his laughter he was trying so hard to control.

"You don't have to laugh so hard. It was a simple mistake, and it's not like datte ba yo is used in everyday Japanese." Kiba reasoned. Naruto's laughter died down and it turned into a grin. Kiba knew that something was going to happen but he didn't figure out what it was until he was already laying on the bed with Naruto on top of him hugging tightly and leaning in for a kiss.

The brunet met him halfway and they shared a soft yet sweet kiss which didn't take long to become a full make-out session. When they were exhausted, Naruto pulled back to take a few deep breaths with a smile still plastered on his face.

"I like it better this way Kiba. I don't want us fighting. I just want us to be happy and laughing like we always do." the blond admitted.

"Do you think I would have it any other way?"

"No, of course not. I just figured I have to say that."

"Let's cuddle together. I miss being able to hold you in bed." Kiba gripped Naruto and rolled him so that he would lay on his side and then tangled his legs with the blond's, yearning to feel much of the warmth the boy's body gave.

"Maybe for a few minutes. But don't forget you still have to get back to your dorm. Who knows if it will snow harder? I can't have you freezing outside." said Naruto in a concerned tone.

"Then if I do I'd just come back here and you can warm me up." Kiba said suggestively.

"Come on don't say things like that." It didn't need a genius to see through what Kiba was saying. Because whenever Kiba spoke in that manner, it only meant one thing.

"You want it." Kiba teased.

"And that's the problem."

"Why is it a problem? We're teenagers with raging hormones. It's okay to want and like it. I like it." the Izunuka assertively stated.

"Kiba please stop. Or else I might not be able to stop myself." the blond warned.

"Then don't."

"Ugh. Now I'm getting…" Naruto stood up and made sure his door was locked. He turned on the speakers and played the song Guren by Does.

"Really Naruto? That song in any way does not go with what we are about to do."

"It's not supposed to go with it. It's to cover the sounds and make it less suspicious." Naruto explained.

"So are we gonna take turns or will it be a 69?" Kiba asked, smirking.

"Itachi."

"…"

"Itachi." the person called again.

"…"

"Itachi-kun." this time he impatiently called.

"What?" the long-haired Uchiha yelled in annoyance to his boyfriend who was repeatedly calling his name from behind him.

"I want to go out. Let's watch a movie." Kurama, boyfriend of the Uchiha said.

"I'm studying." the raven answered uninterestedly.

"You always study. And because of it I end up studying too. I wanna have fun." The redhead whined as he wrapped his arms around the raven's shoulders who seemed to be unaffected by the contact.

"Then have fun." responded the raven impassively.

"But it's not fun if you're not there." the persistent redhead complained again.

"I have exams tomorrow."

"That excuse again? I'm sure you could pass even without studying. Now come with me." And with that the studious Uchiha was yanked on his arm and away from his study table by his stubborn boyfriend whom Itachi was now planning of depriving sex for a week.

"Kurama would you let go of me?" Itachi pleaded.

"No, no Itachi. We are going out." Kurama firmly stated. "There's this movie I want to watch. Then maybe we can go have dinner afterwards."

"My exams are…" Itachi tried to point out again but he was cut off.

"No excuses. Since we are officially boyfriends since three weeks ago, I figured we should spend some time to get to know each other better and to keep you from brooding in that nest of yours."

"I am not brooding." the Uchiha denied.

"Tch. If you sit any longer on that chair your eggs are gonna hatch." Kurama chortled at his own joke, referring to two very specific 'eggs'.

"That was just corny and stupid." Itachi remarked, unsurprisingly not finding what the redhead thought of as a joke in any way funny.

"Still you like me." smiled Kurama.

"I do."

...

"I still can't believe you tried to grope and kiss me inside a movie theater. Do you know how many straight people are there?" Itachi asked his exhibitionist of a boyfriend. Kurama thought that it was a good idea to kiss Itachi while watching Hunter X Hunter: The Last Mission. Itachi of course being a conservative person tried with all his might to lean away from the redhead as he watched the movie at the same time, somehow succeeding throughout the entire movie. He had wanted to smack that boyfriend of his in the head for even thinking about kissing while watching an action themed anime. It was not even because of doing it in public. It was more of because the mood just didn't fit.

"So what? We could totally kick their ass." Kurama said with confidence.

"Or more like we could get kicked out of the movie house because I will not be kicking asses and end up in jail." the raven retorted. He had a point though.

"Could have been. Hey let's get some hot chocolate. And then we could walk around the park before going back to our dorm." the redhead suggested.

"You know, for someone who has ear piercings, a feral looking face and a body that shouts manliness, you're definitely the girl in this relationship." And that was what it looked like whenever they went outside. Itachi was always composed and Kurama has never tried to even hide his excitement whenever they went on a date, that one being only their fourth. Itachi was definitely the guy in the relationship. At least that was what Itachi was thinking.

"Please. I'll show you who the girl in this relationship is. Once I have you bent down on the bed and I pound into you while you scream my name." And that was what Kurama was thinking.

Itachi looked away with a blush on his face. Yes he was bottom and it wasn't as if he didn't like it but sometimes it embarrasses him whenever Kurama mentions it. The two walked around the open patio of the mall trying to find a café to buy their hot chocolate. The snow was falling on them but it was still light that they didn't need an umbrella to cover themselves. Kurama surprisingly remained silent as they walked until it was the raven who broke the silence.

"Kyuu." he called, using his nickname for Kurama which made the redhead smile. "Do you think this is a good idea, us together?"

"What's not good about it? Don't tell me you don't want us…" Kurama said in a starting panic but Itachi didn't let him finish, not wanting him to worry.

"No I don't mean it that way. It's just, if Sasuke learns about this he'll probably hate me." said the raven. Kurama may not be as intelligent as the raven but he instantly knew why Itachi thought about it like that.

"So Sasuke didn't get to be with my baby brother. Then he'll be jealous that his aniki in dating his crush's aniki. And then his aniki will be hated by him."

"Exactly."

"What, so just because you're brother doesn't get to be happy, you're gonna sacrifice your own?" 'And mine.' Kurama added in his thoughts.

"I didn't say that."

"But you were thinking it. I had been asking you out for almost a month and even though it was just because you were playing hard to get, you can't possibly imagine how happy I was when you finally agreed to go out with me. So don't tell me you're just gonna break up with me because of Sasuke." Kurama demanded. The redhead looked afraid. Itachi didn't think that this would have made him think that. Itachi wasn't really thinking of any break ups. The truth was that he liked Kurama very much and there was absolutely no way he was gonna break up with him just because of Sasuke. He just wanted to ask Kurama's opinion on the matter.

"No of course not. I like you Kyuu. I won't do something like that." said the raven in assurance for his lover.

"And you better not. Especially when I actually get to be with someone I really like too." admitted Kurama. "I've never wanted someone so badly as you Itachi."

"Me too Kyuu."

The wind decided to blow upon them with its cold November breeze making both teens shiver. Since Kurama wanted to get out so hurriedly, the two only managed to grab and wear their university sports jackets and with the snow that was falling, it wasn't enough to keep them warm.

"It's really starting to get colder. We should have brought warmer clothes." said Itachi.

"We'll be getting some hot chocolate soon." Kurama said, pointing at the café he spotted.

The two went inside the coffee shop which they assumed to be serving hot chocolate too. There they were met with the pleasant warm air from the café's heater.

"I missed the heat. Now let's get those hot chocolates." Kurama walked into the counter with Itachi behind him. It was a good thing that there was no other people in line so they didn't have to go through the trouble of waiting.

"Two hot chocolates with milk for take-out please." the redhead said to the girl behind the counter. The girl looked up and without even trying to hide it, fixed her hair in front of the two boys.

"That would be $6.00 sir." she said but as soon as she had taken a look at the two, it was clear that her attention became focused more on the raven beside Kurama. She punched in the order but was not so secretly trying to take glances of the gorgeous Uchiha in front of her.

"Can you tell me your name sir so I could write it on the cup?" she asked the redhead, who was now trying his best to contain his irritation for the girl who was checking out his boyfriend just a few seconds earlier.

"Kurama." he said in deadpanned manner.

"Okay." The girl seemed unfazed by the way Kurama looked at her. She hurriedly wrote the redhead's name on the cup so that she could turn to look at Itachi who was busy looking around the café.

"Uhm sir, what would you want me to write on your cup?" she asked the raven in a sweet voice and with a very noticeable smile on her face. It was clear that she was trying to flirt with Itachi, and Kurama was really getting infuriated by it. She didn't smile like that to the redhead and if it meant anything, she didn't smile just because she was required to smile at the customers. She gave that smile to Itachi. To his boyfriend.

"Itachi." the raven replied disinterestedly. Kurama watched his boyfriend answer, relieved that he wasn't encouraging the girl. But Itachi was gay so he probably wouldn't have any interest anyway. But still that girl, he hated her.

"Oh, Itachi huh." She took the cup and wrote the raven's name before showing it back to the Uchiha. "Is this how you spell it?" She asked innocently with that overused smile, pitifully trying to make more conversation with the raven.

And that was it.

"Would you freaking stop flirting with him. I went here to get some hot chocolates, not to see some stupid girl glancing and smiling at my boyfriend!" Kurama snapped, earning themselves the attention of the other customers. The girl on the counter was taken aback by the tone of Kurama's voice. Whisperings could be heard in the background but Kurama didn't care. A hardly contained chuckle left the raven who seemed to find the happenings amusing.

The girl eventually snapped out of her shock and went away to get their orders. She moved like a robot, her heart pounding like crazy from fear of Kurama. The two would have been asked to leave the establishment because of Kurama's outburst but looking around, the other workers seemed to actually find the redhead's outburst comical and couldn't care less for the girl. The fear stricken girl tried to fill the cups with the hot chocolate but because of her wildly shaking hands, the contents spilled and had her shouting pain from the intense heat.

Thankfully for her a guy from the other counter took her place while she cleaned up the mess she made on the ground.

"I apologize for her." the new server politely said to the two. "I'll be getting your orders. Can you two wait on the table?"

"Yeah sure." Kurama said as he tried to contain his laughter. He didn't really intend to scare the girl that much that it would cause her to burn her hand. But he also couldn't help but smile evilly at the thought of revenge even it wasn't him who caused it directly. Oh sweet, sweet karma.

"Just place this number on your table and I'll bring your drinks as soon as possible. I do apologize for the delay." the server said.

"No problem." Kurama assured him as he took the number.

The two eventually got their hot chocolates and Kurama even left a tip to the server who took the place of the girl saying that he wanted to give it because he was amused by the girl's performance with the hot chocolate. Itachi thought it was ridiculous because the girl angered him but Kurama insisted. He said that it was okay since he saw that Itachi didn't pay any attention to the girl and he was happy with that. Now they were walking on the sidewalk on the way to their university dorms.

"You know, you are one crazy person Kurama." Itachi remarked at his boyfriend.

"What's so crazy about telling her to stop looking at you?"

"Shouting at her and letting everyone in the establishment know we're boyfriends." Itachi replied. "This time we could have really been kicked out because of your manners, if you have any."

Kurama didn't answer straightaway. He took a sip of the hot chocolate and relished the feeling of the heat as it dissipated into his body. "I love hot chocolate during the cold. It makes me miss that stuff Naruto likes to eat when it rains."

"Well, I just wanna go to bed. I suppose I just have to study in the morning."

"Study again? Then I suppose you're a lost cause my little weasel." Kurama teased, using his own little pet name for the Uchiha.

"Don't call me that."

"It's what your name means. And besides, you like to call me Kyuu."

"Weasel's not romantic." Itachi reasoned.

"Oh so who's the girl now?"

"Forget I said that."

"Not a chance. I'm surprised you actually know the meaning of romantic."

"Of course I know that." Kurama just chuckled. He was so the guy in their relationship.

"'Tachi, I wanna have some fun."

"Didn't you already have fun?"

"I wasn't talking about that kind of fun." The redhead looked at the raven's black orbs with unhidden lust. The raven felt both fear and excitement when he saw the look on his boyfriend's face. There was only one thing to say.

"I know. So, your room or mine?"

A/N:

I never really intended to write the Kurama/Itachi part but it just popped up since if you still remember, someone knocked on Itachi's door when Sasuke was calling him. So if you're guessing it was Kurama, you are correct.

And I'm sorry for cutting the obvious lime and lemon scenes. I didn't feel like writing them when this chapter was first written December 2014 last year. But I will write a one-shot on what happened once they got back to their dorms and post it not later than February 2016.


	19. I Love You

Chapter 19

**I Love You**

"Hey Sasuke." a very familiar voice greeted the Uchiha. The raven looked up to see the first person he thought of the moment he heard that voice. That voice he hadn't heard for quite some time.

"Naruto."

"So uhm…" the blond started, but struggled to say what he wanted. "How do I say this… let's see…"

"Just say it Naruto. I won't feel bad whatever it is." Sasuke assured. It seemed like he was able to read whatever it might be that the blond wanted to say. It could be because of his eyes but maybe it was just because of all that happened earlier that day.

"Sorry things didn't happen for you like it did for us. I saw what they did to your locker." the blond said sadly.

The word FAGGOT was sprayed in red paint and large font.

"I don't give a damn about it. It's true anyway." Sasuke said, turning his head away from the blond. And just that gesture was enough for Naruto to know that he did give a damn about it.

"No. You are gay Sasuke, but a faggot is not what you are. Saying that word sounds like you're worth less than those guys who wrote it. And you shouldn't accept it just like that. Yeah, you can ignore it, but don't believe what they tell you."

"I know who spray painted my locker. It could only be them. I saw one of them smirk at me during lunch. I think things are gonna get worse." He was referring to the seniors whom he was acquainted with. Friends, they were not but everyone else knew that Sasuke had in a few occasions joined them in their fights during middle school.

"Then I'll help you." Naruto firmly said.

"No." was the quick reply from the raven. "I appreciate it Naruto. But you need not get involved in any of this. This is all my fault. If I hadn't done what I did last week then we wouldn't be in this predicament. If I hadn't done what I did in middle school then…"

That's what he thought. Deep inside he knew that a deeper cause of all these were the incidents years before. Last week's incident was just the one that blew it out.

"What's past is past. No need to regret it. For me I don't."

"Well I'm happy that it's going good for you." came the disinterested reply from Sasuke.

RING.

"Uh, I gotta get back to my seat. Wouldn't want Mr. Hatake to scold me. Let's talk again at music class." Naruto said before he stood up from the seat beside Sasuke. The raven was about to reply but Suigetsu spoke before he could.

"You can take my seat Naruto, I won't mind." the silver-haired boy said as he came up to them.

"But we have seating arrangements to follow." Naruto argued. He was a good boy and good boys followed the rules.

"Please. I'm sure Mr. Hatake won't even remember which seat you should be in. He's always busy looking at the porno book of his."

"Don't tell Naruto what to do, Suigetsu. I'll talk to you later." Sasuke said, turning to the blond.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded.

"Was that really you Sasuke? Because if it was then you would have done anything to have him sit beside you, which is kinda like the exact opposite of what you just did right now." Suigetsu questioned in confusion.

"I don't feel like it." the raven responded. And he wasn't lying. Whatever Suigetsu may think, he did not want the blond to sit beside him. As long as he couldn't be more than friends with him. Because the more he spent time with him, the more he'd be reminded of what he can't have.

If he were to spend time with him, he didn't want it to have all those boundaries. Not being able to hold him, to smile at him, flirt with him and to kiss him. He would do anything just to be able to taste those lips again but he didn't want to do anything that would make Naruto hate him, like for example forcing himself unto him just like he did before.

The class went on and just as always was boring. Their teacher came late, a ridiculous thing to happen on the last regular class of the day.

"Suigetsu I have a favor to ask." Sasuke said.

"You don't need to tell me Sasuke. I can't help but notice. We'll wait for you. You can count on Juugo and me. We won't let you handle this alone." the white-haired boy assured.

"Thank you Suigetsu. You're a great friend."

"Wait did I just hear you say that? The Sasuke Uchiha just said that?" Suigetsu asked, chuckling a bit.

"Shut up. Or else I'll take it back. I need to get to my music class." He walked past Suigetsu and spotted Naruto, waiting outside the classroom. He would have called for his attention so he could walk with him to the music room but he didn't. He was probably waiting for that mutt anyway.

Sasuke walked his way to the music room, Suigetsu and Juugo tailing behind him. As soon as he spotted the door he entered but never did he thought that he'd meet up with Kiba there.

"So how does it feel being hated by the people who once adored you?" Kiba mocked as Sasuke walked passed by him, and the surprised raven turned to look towards him with an icy cold glare.

"Like I care what they think of me." the Uchiha retorted.

"You say that even when you beat up the people you don't like just so you could cover up for yourself. I know you enjoyed it when the people around you shouted for you to beat them up. But now those same people know what you really are and because you fooled them, it will be a lot different for you than for us." Kiba said.

"Shut up Inuzuka!" Sasuke snapped, grabbing the collar of Kiba's shirt. "You're trying my patience." Though other people would have wet their pants from fear, Kiba managed to still smirk knowing that he was pissing off the Uchiha, the person he hated the most in their school. He also was confident because he knew that the Uchiha wouldn't do anything as stupid as to hurt him, unless he wanted to get suspended again or worse, expelled.

"I'll be careful around your old buddies. They're sure going to be pissed after learning about your charade. You couldn't even go to school without Juugo and Suigetsu by your side. Afraid are you?" Kiba mocked.

"You wish." Sasuke let go of his hold on Kiba's shirt but continued to give his death glare to him. No matter how much he wanted to rearrange the brunet's face right now, letting his temper get the best of him was not the best option and he knew this.

"Hey Kiba, Sasuke." Naruto greeted as he arrived in the music room, unaware of the heated exchange that occurred just a few seconds ago between the two boys. Sasuke nodded at Naruto and then went on his way.

"What's up with him?" Naruto asked Kiba, noticing the lack of interest Sasuke was displaying that day.

"You know that this day's not been the best for him." Kiba pointed out.

"Yeah. And I really feel bad about it."

"You know he deserves it."

"I won't say whether he deserves it or not. But I just don't want him to go through this. The two of us weren't that hated. But just seeing Sasuke's locker today, it makes me want to beat the crap out of whoever did that." Naruto said with determination, clenching his fist tightly. Kiba felt the change in his boyfriend's aura and decided it was best if he didn't further say what he thought of Sasuke. He didn't want to be fighting in any way with his boyfriend. So he just nodded and motioned for them to take their seats before their teacher arrived. And not a minute later, Mr. Shimura came in.

"Everyone meet up with your group. Today will be given as practice time. I'm expecting that you know by now how to play your chosen instruments. I expect at least a tolerable tune out of them because I will be making rounds to listen to each and every one of you play. Now, go." their teacher ordered.

"Let's get this over with." Sasuke said half-heartedly.

"Don't be in such a bad mood today Sasuke. It will pass. It's only the first day. The other students are getting used to Kiba and me by now."

"I'm not like you Naruto. They won't let this pass so easily. You've seen what they've done to my locker. Anything like that happened to you?"

"No."

"Then what makes you think this will just pass?"

"It will Sasuke. I'll always be there for you. We can get through this."

"We." Sasuke repeated what the blond said. And somehow a little load was lifted from his shoulders, knowing that his friend will be there for him, even after what he did to him indirectly. Naruto was a true friend.

"Hey let's get to our own room." they heard Kiba say, calling both their attentions. "Mr. Shimura won't like it if we delay any further."

'Though somehow I wish you wouldn't be there for me that much. Because if only you know Naruto… what's waiting for me after this class.' Sasuke whispered to himself as he followed them.

Once the five group members have gathered in their own separate room, Sasuke stood up to announce what the group would be doing in preparation for the performance on the last week of the semester.

"Mr. Shimura has tasked us to select and perform a piece which will include all the instruments each of us has chosen. Those five instruments are the piano, flute, piccolo, violin and oboe. It may not be the best combination but we must do all we can to make it work. The others are sure to work but the piccolo is not the best instrument for this performance. Unless you have other instruments you can play Naruto, then we'll just have to rearrange the piece and give it a part."

"Actually I've also been thinking about this. And so I tried to think about what piece we should play and then I came up with John Williams' Across the Stars, the love theme of Anakin and Padme from Episode II of Star Wars. I can play the guitar and there is a part of that piece where it is played." Naruto proposed.

"I've seen the movie but I don't recall the music. We'll listen to it and then ask Mr. Shimura if we may use it."

"I'll plug my phone to the speakers and we can listen to it now." Naruto said. The group went to their own room, with Sasuke trying to ignore Kiba and the brunet keeping as close to Naruto as possible.

After listening to the piece, the group readily agreed for it to be the piece they will play until they find something better. There was a part for the oboe, and the violin and flute will play the melody, with the piano in the background. Although Naruto mentioned being able to play the guitar, there was only a short time near the end of the piece and it was actually a harp. But Sasuke said that a guitar will do for it so long as the volume will be adjusted. He also proposed that Naruto should just play the flute along with Kiba so that he will have a longer part.

They spent the rest of the period finding the music sheet online, with Sasuke offering to purchase it. It was done in only ten minutes and then they proceeded to dividing the parts which they would play.

And as the period went on, Mr. Shimura had been calling names so he could assess the skills and progress of the students. The Hidden in the Leaves Academy was well known for producing the best students in music and as the head instructor, Mr. Shimura would not have his students slacking. For him, two months were enough to learn to play the instruments and at least produce a decent sound from it.

And for Kiba who was a beginner, he was scared shit in playing an excerpt for their teacher.

"Come on Kiba, you can do it. We've spent hours for this. You used to hyperventilate all the time before and make the wrong calculations on how much to blow but now I can say you're ready. Just imagine it's just you and that you're playing for me and not Mr. Shimura. Don't get nervous." the blond said, trying to give Kiba composure.

"I know. It's just hard to play in front of him and just imagine he's not there. He expects too much from the students. I can't even read the notes on a music sheet."

"Don't worry about reading a music sheet. You will be playing, not reading. You've memorized the notes. The reading can be practiced later. Don't put too much on your head right now and just focus on the task. Once Aria comes back then you're next."

"Kiba. You're up next." Aria announced as she returned to their room.

"So, how was it?" Kiba nervously asked.

"Well he wasn't that scary as they say. Just do your best and he'll tell you where you can improve." answered Aria.

"Let's go Kibbles. Show that geezer what you can do." Naruto said.

"Yeah. I'll show him." And then Kiba got out of the room and went inside Mr. Shimura's own soundproof room.

"Now, Inuzuka. Play whatever you want. This will be 10% of your grade for the semester. Make sure to impress me."

"Yes sir." Kiba positioned the flute and then took two deep breaths to ready himself. He adjusted his lips for it to be in the perfect shape and position. And then he blew the first note.

It was the piece called Morning(1) that he played. At first his breath was unsteady and he couldn't match the tempo right. He looked at Mr. Shimura whose lips were starting to frown.

'Damn it. Why am I shaking so much? Even my breath is shaking. I won't be able to play the notes right if I continue like this.' Kiba thought.

**_Just imagine it's just you and that you're playing for me and not Mr. Shimura. Don't get nervous._**

Naruto's voice sounded in his head.

'Yeah. I shouldn't look at Mr. Shimura. I'm sure he wouldn't mind me not looking at him while I play, right?' Kiba closed his eyes and then imagined Naruto was there in front of him, listening. It gave him some kind of a warm aura and his shivering fingers and lips calmed down and steadied. This was Naruto he was playing for and he wanted to impress him. And soon he was playing the piece with ease, no shaking and no stalling so that he could remember what finger position to do next. In short, he played it well.

"Good performance Inuzuka. Just be more confident in yourself. I can obviously see your nervousness during the first part of the piece. You need to mind only the music that you play, not me or anything else. And because of that I want you to practice more on playing long notes. Practice doing a single note for at least eight seconds without any faltering or change in tone. Do your breathing exercises. You may now go back and then call Uchiha for me."

"Thank you sir."

"Before you go." Mr. Shimura added, stopping Kiba before he even headed for the door. "I have heard about what happened last week between you and Uchiha. It's unfortunate that you have to be in the same group as him but I hope this will not hinder you from doing your group activities in this class."

"I'll do what I can sir." Kiba promised.

"Then on your way."

Kiba returned back and was greeted by Naruto with a hug.

"So, how did it go?" the blond asked excitedly.

"I'll be saying it went well. I was shaking at first but then I just closed my eyes and thought of you and then I played it easy as pie."

"Really? You thought about me when you played?"

"Yeah. I mean it's not like I don't think about you most of the time."

"Stop it Kiba, you're making me blush." came the shy response from Naruto.

"Oh, you two are so cute. Right Aria?" Mihara remarked.

"Yeah they are, Mihara." Aria agreed.

"Sasuke, you're up next." Kiba called. The raven then looked at him in shock.

'Did he just call me by my… Whatever.'

…

"Come on, let's go." Kiba took Naruto by the hand, who was still chatting with Aria about the piece they will perform.

"Sorry Aria. My boyfriend's not that patient." the blond apologized and made the girl blush at hearing the word 'boyfriend'. Yaoi fangirl she obviously was.

"Bye Naruto." she waved at the blond who was being dragged by Kiba towards the door.

"Hey you can let go of me now."

"Sorry. It's just I really wanna go home now. You know, spend some time together with you. Just us." Kiba raised an eyebrow.

"You are one horny teenager Kiba." Naruto remarked yet with a smile.

"You're not going anywhere Uchiha!" they heard a loud voice as soon as they reached the door. Coming into view, it was from none other than Sakon, one of the twin brothers from the senior grade, and along with him were his twin brother Ukon, Jiroubo and Kidoumaru. And there was absolutely no doubt hell was coming.

"Let us through if you do not want a fight to erupt." Juugo warned.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Sakon retorted, no fear whatsoever on his face. In fact it looked more like he wanted that fight to erupt. "We have business with Sasuke. We need to teach him a lesson about honesty. Won't you say Ukon?"

"My brother is right. Sasuke used to join up with us, back in middle school, when we beat up those faggots." Ukon said, the word 'faggots' reeking with distaste.

"But now it really irks me to find out that Sasuke, the one who joined us, is the same as those disgusting freaks that we taught lessons before." Sakon spat on the floor, just near where Juugo's feet was standing on.

"If you don't want that head of yours to be separated from your body then step aside and let us through." Juugo moved closer towards Sakon, clenching his fists and making them crackle.

"I don't think so." Sakon stubbornly refused.

"Sasuke, go the other way around. I'll keep these guys here." Juugo told him. It was a known fact that the huge guy was overprotective of Sasuke but the reason for this was still a mystery.

"No." Sasuke said sternly. "If they want to settle things here, then so be it. I know you're itching for a fight Juugo."

"That was before, Sasuke. But I can't risk having you get hurt. And Suigetsu too."

"Yeah Sasuke, you should probably listen to Juugo. Please, I don't wanna get caught in a fight right now, especially on school grounds. And who knows what the principal will do if they caught us, especially for you. You just got back here from suspension." Suigetsu reminded him, hoping that it would convince the raven.

"Fine. Let's go." Sasuke turned around and started to walk away. As he did he caught a glimpse of Naruto. So much for his pride. He was looking like a coward but he knew that Naruto wouldn't have liked it if he resolved things with violence. If violence ever did resolve things anyway.

"You're not getting away this time, Sasuke." Ukon shouted with confidence. And then from the corner on the other side of the hallway came out Zaku and Dosu, the only two juniors who were also a part of their group. "You're surrounded you sick faggot."

"He's right Uchiha. No way out of this." Dosu said with an evil chuckle.

From the sidelines and watching all that was happening were Naruto and Kiba, as well as all their other classmates, most of them still holding their instruments. The guys immediately took the front rows so they could watch the incoming fight against the two groups.

"Naruto, whatever you do please don't get in this fight." Kiba advised, more like ordered him. He knew that something like this would happen but he never imagined that they would be caught in this and that Naruto had to see it. Now there was almost no way to stop the blond from getting in this fight.

"But Kiba we have to help him. They're outnumbered 6 to 3. If we help them then it would be 6 against 5 and we would have a better chance."

"Sasuke brought this upon himself. You don't need to…" Kiba tried to argue but the blond wasn't letting him.

"I have to Kiba. Sasuke was outnumbered 3 to 1 when he saved me from those guys back then and he didn't think about what could happen to himself."

"He's right, Naruto. You don't have to help me." Sasuke's voice made both of them turn. It appeared that the others were able to hear them talking on the sidelines too.

"But Sasuke you can't fight against them all. Most of them practice Karate." Naruto tried to argue.

"Ooh. So the other faggot wants to join huh." Sakon smirked. "Well we never really thought about giving you a screwing but if you decide on fighting against us, then I guess we have no choice. The more the merrier, as they say."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. If you're so insistent on fighting then why don't you come at us right now so we can settle this already?"

"Don't try me, Uzumaki. Or else I might get you first." Sakon warned.

"Naruto please don't. You can't fight. We're on school grounds. The teachers are on a meeting. Let's just hope someone has already contacted them." Kiba pleaded from him.

"The profs won't come. We got our buddies making sure no one reports this." Sakon said. He then looked at his brother, and then to Jiroubo as if signaling them. And without a warning, made his way past Juugo to launch a punch to Sasuke. He was fast but Juugo was able to react and immediately followed him but failed to stop him because before he knew it, Jiroubo was already taking hold of him under a full nelson.

The scene in front of him was enough to alert Sasuke and he easily dodged the incoming punch from Sakon by leaning towards his right. But it was all futile because Ukon had already stepped towards that position and was able to successfully land a solid punch to Sasuke's stomach, making the Uchiha cough. Sasuke knelt down on one knee but even before he could respond to their attack, another solid punch landed on his left jaw, sending down to the ground.

Sakon was about to stomp on him but Suigetsu had sprinted and launched a flying kick in the direction of the twin brothers. They were quick to react and avoided the kick but after a spin, Suigetsu's other foot caught Ukon in his face, sending him backwards.

"You'll pay for that you bastard!" cursed Ukon as he stood up as if the kick was nothing and threw combinations at Suigetsu. To his surprise, Suigetsu was able to dodge and block his attacks, but Kidoumaru had decided to join him and landed a solid kick to Suigetsu's stomach, bringing him to the ground and coughing hardly.

"Stay righ…" Kidoumaru told the silver-haired boy but didn't finish as he felt a massive blow on his back, sending him face first to the ground. As he turned around, he saw Juugo staring at him with pure rage.

"Don't underestimate me." Juugo shouted, and behind him was Jiroubo screaming in pain as he held on to a subluxed left shoulder. Juugo had managed to break free from the full nelson hold.

"And don't forget about us." Sakon and Ukon said at the same time, landing a cheap shot on Juugo who was occupied with Kidoumaru. The twin have hit both his knees, strong and painful enough to make the huge guy grunt in pain.

"That looks like it's gonna be a ligament tear, won't you say Ukon?"

"I agree, brother. We don't care about injuries and we play dirty. Remember that." added Sakon. And so the only ones left standing were the twin brothers and Sasuke, who was able to recover from the earlier blow to his abdomen.

"Now, it's time for the faggot. Dosu, Zaku." Ukon called their two accomplices. "Make sure the other two stay down. I don't want anyone interrupting our fight with Uchiha."

The two took their positions. Zaku threw a kick to Suigetsu's stomach once again, making sure that he wouldn't be able to get up. Dosu just stood guard on Juugo, who was clearly unable to fight due to his injuries.

"Stop it right there!" they heard a shout from the crowd. And as they turned their heads around towards the direction of the voice, they weren't even surprised to see that it's Naruto.

"Heh. And why should I? Huh, little faggot?" Ukon responded.

"Because if you don't then I will have no choice but to join in."

"Hah! You, join in? What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think you can fight against us. You wanna team up with your faggot friend?" Sakon laughed at Naruto's statement.

"You don't have to help me. I can take care of myself." Sasuke said, trying to sound convincing but Naruto knew that taking on 5 people by himself was suicide.

"Just watch. Come one, give me what you guys got. If you think you would be able to land another cheap shot on me then you're mistaken." the raven challenged them, giving off a smirk that made Ukon's eye twitch in annoyance.

"You're taking me too lightly Uchiha." Ukon shouted as he took a lunge for Sasuke, Sakon following behind him to attack the raven at the same time. The two did a combination attack, Ukon throwing a punch aimed to the left of Sasuke's head and Sakon, a side kick to Sasuke's right. But both these attacks, as mediocre as they were, were seen by Sasuke's gifted eyes. The Uchiha couldn't dodge to his left nor right and moving back was the only way to go, but Sasuke knew how those punch and kick were going to land. So instead he took a quick step closer to Ukon and yet even with the speed the punch carried, Sasuke easily dodge the punch and made his way to Ukon's right side and pushed him to the left. A scream of pain was heard as Sakon's intended kick for Sasuke hit his brother hard on the ribs.

"Brother are you okay?" Sakon asked in worry.

"Grr. Does it look like I'm okay? That was a full force kick." Ukon replied the obvious, the pain from the kick seen clearly on his face.

"I'm sor…!" And before Sakon could even apologize, a spinning heel kick connected to his face and successfully knocked him out.

"Don't think in any way that I'm gonna play fair. Now, bring it on you pussies." Sasuke challenged with confidence.

"Kidoumaru, you two." Ukon called, referring to Zaku and Dosu as well. The three took their positions on Ukon's side, itching to fight. "Now, let's see how you do against 4 at the same time."

"I've wanted to take you on for the longest time." Zaku said and without waiting, charged towards Sasuke. Dosu looked calm and analyzing of the situation. Kidoumaru did the same, only backing up Zaku and looking for the perfect opening to strike, not wanting the same thing that happened to Ukon happen to him.

"How stupid are you taking me on?" Sasuke mocked. This time, he met Zaku head on and instead of going for a counter attack, Sasuke initiated a punch aimed at Zaku's stomach. Zaku barely saw this and even though he managed to place an arm to block the punch, it barely made it in time and the punch slipped through. It hit him in the abdomen but he managed to contract his abs and it dulled the force a bit. Zaku threw another attack but expectedly was easily dodged by Sasuke. But Kidoumaru and Dosu took the opportunity of when Sasuke was dodging to throw their own attacks, not at the same time so that by the time Sasuke dodged the next attack, the following would surely land.

And according to plan, Sasuke dodged Kidoumaru's attack. It was fast and Sasuke became off-balanced that it was impossible to avoid Dosu's hook. Sasuke covered his face and abdomen with his arms, seeing that the only way was to block. But he didn't feel the force of the impending attack. Instead he saw Dosu clasping a hand on his stomach, and to his left, Kidoumaru fallen on his back.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, but I'm not gonna let you take them on just by yourself. You did almost trip during that last dodge." Looking to the voice's direction, it was of course none other than his friend, Naruto.

"I just wanna go home and get this over with." Kiba shrugged, and Sasuke knew that it was him who took care of the other one.

"I didn't ask for your help Inuzuka." Sasuke scoffed, feeling ashamed to be helped by the person he hated.

"What, do you think I would stay here by my own will so I could save your ass? I'm just doing this because you saved Naruto that one time." Kiba reasoned.

"Just don't blame me if you get your face rearranged again. You suck at fighting." Sasuke managed to still give an insult.

"Let me show you a few moves Naruto taught me." And with that, Kiba made his way towards Zaku who was still standing. He did a fake which was a very fast punch that Zaku fell for. Kiba waited to see when Zaku planted his foot when he dodged and then did a follow up punch. Zaku tried to avoid the next punch but due to having to dodge again just as he placed his foot, he tripped and fell on his back.

"Don't even think about standing up." Kiba warned him. But Zaku wouldn't be threatened of course so he tried to swing his leg so he could trip Kiba. The Inuzuka surprisingly was expecting this and took a step back.

"Don't talk down to me you faggot!" Zaku shouted in anger, stood up and threw a very fast and hard swung fist. Kiba reacted in time, ducking slightly to the right and then grabbed Zaku's arm. He pushed his legs to lift Zaku and executed a judo looking throw, making Zaku land flat on his back

"I don't like repeating myself. Stay down." he ordered. And Zaku didn't try anymore.

"That was a nice move Inuzuka." Sasuke remarked.

"Did you actually just gave me a compliment?" Kiba asked in disbelief. Naruto on the other hand was smiling.

"Well it looks like you two may have a good chance getting along." the blond spoke up.

"I'm tired of this. I think I'll be adding to that face of yours Uzumaki!" growled Ukon. He ran fast towards the blond, taking out a cutter from his side pocket.

"Let's see you dodge this." Ukon swung his bladed arm aimed at Naruto's face. It was fast and unexpected. No one would have thought that they could even have the gall to use a lethal weapon inside school grounds.

"No!" Kiba and Sasuke yelled. It was too dangerous to fight against a person with a blade. Kiba knew he couldn't fight against one. Sasuke could but it was too risky. Both Kiba and Sasuke threw themselves at Naruto so that their bodies would shield him.

"No one's adding anything to anyone." they heard a new voice from the crowd. Looking up, they saw that it was Mr. Hatake, their Literature teacher. He was grabbing Ukon by the arm which he squeezed to make the boy let go of the weapon.

"You do realize that you're going to get expelled for this. And most likely worse."

"What happened here?!" a blond woman with pigtails spoke up in a booming voice. All the students shook in fear after hearing their principal's voice. Who wouldn't when it was rumored she could destroy a table with just a single punch.

"Anyway, all those involved in the fight go to my office. Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, escort them and make sure they don't kill each other on the way. And take those injured in the nurse's office." And with that she stormed off.

"My father's going to kill me." Sasuke muttered to himself.

"I'm sure he'll understand Sasuke. It's not like it was you who initiated the fight." Naruto assured him.

"You shouldn't have butted in. Now you're gonna get a weeks' worth of detention in the least."

"Yeah I am. But it's nothing I can't handle. And my parents would be proud that I helped my friend, even if it meant detention or not. And that would mean more bonding time for us three and maybe you two could talk to each other more and resolve your issues."

"Come on Naruto, don't make us do that." Kiba whined. "It's already bad enough to stay in the same room as him."

"I'm sure it isn't. You wouldn't have helped Sasuke a while ago if you can't stand him that much."

"As I said, I only did it because he helped you before and of course I couldn't let you help him just by yourself." the Inuzuka reasoned.

"Well. Come on let's just get this over with. I really want to go home too you know."

"That's what I've been telling you the whole time. If you hadn't stop to talk to that girl then…"

"Come on Kiba. Just stop it. It's not like we can do anything about it."

"Okay."

...

The trip to the principal's office wasn't anything fancy. Ukon and his gang had been regulars since their first year so Tsunade wasn't really surprised and just wanted to get it over with. But then again, with Ukon's bold move of using a lethal weapon, it was clear as day that he would get expelled. It was the least punishment that could be given to him. For the other people in their group, they were given two weeks of suspension due to their bad record and for causing serious injury to Juugo. It wasn't a ligament tear luckily but his knees were sprained so much that he couldn't walk. Juugo on the other hand received a week of suspension because he subluxed a shoulder of Jiroubo. Then again he'll be needing it for his knees to heal.

Sasuke, Suigetsu, Naruto, Kiba, Zaku and Dosu received a lighter punishment of 10 hours of detention. Sasuke's group may have acted in self-defense but they still broke school rules. Zaku and Dosu on the other hand weren't really able to cause much damage and because their record wasn't too bad, detention was just their punishment. Tsunade was forgiving this time so even if Sasuke just got out of suspension, she didn't issue another one knowing that Sasuke tried to stay out of the fight until the other group made the first move. So of course, heavier punishment went to the one who started it all.

"Now all of you get out of this room! I want your parents here on Monday to discuss this issue. And make sure that I don't see you here again after that. Got me?!" their principal shouted.

"Yes ma'am." All of them replied in unison. They all left the room, the teachers still with them in case some of them just couldn't get enough. Sasuke made his way to visit Juugo in the nurse's office, Suigetsu along with him. Naruto and Kiba didn't speak to Sasuke and just made their way home.

"So uhm, how about some ice cream before we go home." Kiba suggested. It was already dark and the night was really cold.

"Are you serious? It's like 4 degrees and you want some ice cream?" Naruto stared at him in disbelief.

"Well I like ice cream. It doesn't really matter if it's cold as long as I get to taste it." Kiba reasoned.

"I want hot chocolate."

"Alright. I guess that would work too."

"Then after that maybe I can sleepover at your place." the blond suggested.

"You want to stay over? Well, Shino's gonna be there so it's not like we can do much."

BBZZZZ

"Wait I just got a text." Kiba informed. He took the vibrating phone out his pocket and as he read the message, a grin formed on his face.

"Guess who just texted that they'll be going home for the weekend." the Inuzuka asked in excitement.

"Who?"

"Shino. He said that's he's going home with his father so that means we have the dorm room to ourselves."

"Great. I'll just text Jiraiya. I'm sure he'll let me sleepover. I mean we have Torune and Foo down there, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, let's go. It's freezing here." Naruto shivered as he spoke. Even if there wasn't any snow falling that night, the weather wasn't really friendly for a walk. Naruto was looking down until he felt Kiba embrace him. He looked up and saw that Kiba had his chin resting on his shoulder.

"You're shivering. Feel any warmer?" Kiba asked.

"A bit. You're really warm Kiba, even in this cold. It really makes me wonder why." Naruto admitted. And then Kiba placed his hand behind Naruto's head and pulled him closer. Their lips met and they both felt that little surge of electricity pass through them.

"Naruto, I love you." Kiba said as their lips parted. His heart pounded stronger and faster. He didn't plan on saying it but the words came out of him. He felt an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach at the fear of Naruto's response. But he kept his composure and looked at Naruto's blue eyes. He meant it. He really loves him. What should he be afraid of?

"I love you too, Kiba."

And he couldn't have felt happier.

A/N:

(1) Morning is a song (instrumental piece) in the first Naruto series.


	20. In My Arms

Chapter 20

**In My Arms**

It was late at night and Naruto was at Kiba's dorm watching a movie together with his boyfriend for six months. The show was The Heroic Legend of Arslan which was about a Parsian prince who fights to take back his kingdom from the ruthless Lusitanians. It was a swashbuckling anime and full of action and both Kiba and Naruto were into the show that when usually they would fool around in front of the TV instead of watching what's on, that time they finished the episode of the week with both of them actually watching. When the show finished, Kiba turned the TV off only to find Naruto looking at him intently.

"Kiba, I'm ready." Naruto said. Kiba didn't get what the blond was talking about nor why he would say something so abrupt just after watching that anime.

"Ready for what?"

"I want to make love to you Kiba. Today's exactly been six months since we've started going out together and I want to take our relationship to the next level." the blond said as he gazed into Kiba's eyes. The brunet was surprised at his boyfriend's words, not expecting that it would actually come from Naruto first. Now asked, of course his answer would be 'yes'. He wanted to do this long before, dreamed about it even when Naruto and he were just best friends.

"I want to show you how much I love you." Naruto added. Kiba already knew his reply and confidently said.

"Naruto, I want to show you how much I love you too." he said. He closed the slight distance in between them and captured his boyfriend's lips which met him halfway. He encircled his arms around Naruto's back to pull him closer as he pushed harder on the other boy's lips, his tongue swiping along it asking for entrance. The blond eagerly complied and soon the walls of his mouth was being ravished by his boyfriend's tongue, he himself protruding his own to fight playfully with the other. When the apparent need for air arose, both boys pulled back from their kiss with deep breaths. They stared at each other's eyes and seemingly without saying a word, have communicated just through the eye contact and understood each other, agreed on what they were to do next.

Kiba released his hold on Naruto and got off the couch then helped Naruto up as well. As soon as they were both up, Kiba captured him in another kiss and said an 'I love you' before lifting Naruto up bridal style with his strong arms towards his own bedroom.

"Ki-kiba put me down." Naruto complained, not wanting to be lifted up like a girl, especially when they were about to make love.

"Nuh uh." Kiba ignored the rant of his boyfriend, secretly chuckling at how cute Naruto was just then and kept walking towards his room much to the other's protest and laid him on the bed.

"I'm not a girl Kiba. Don't carry me like that."

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. I'm just happy, you know." Kiba said with an honest smile. He followed on top of the bed, and placed both his hands under Naruto's shirt, helping the blond take them off. He threw it to who knows where in the room, not really minding where as his focus was solely upon Naruto and once again he pushed the blond down as he kissed him on the lips, then soon moving to latch upon his lover's neck, eliciting a moan from the blond as Kiba sucked near his collar bone leaving a bright red hickey. He continued to trail kisses down Naruto's chest, into his now well-toned abs until he stopped just under his navel.

He looked a little bit further down and could see the huge bulge that was already formed on Naruto's jeans. Kiba couldn't help but lick his lips in anticipation. He unsnapped the button of Naruto's jeans but before he could pull the zipper down, Naruto sat up and took hold of Kiba's shirt and pulled it out of the brunet. Kiba looked a little confused at the suddenness of Naruto's action but didn't question it.

"You can't just take off my clothes when you yourself are still fully clothed." Naruto said and then placed his hands on Kiba's ripped waist, feeling every crook of his sculpted abs before pulling Kiba back down on top of him.

"You're not getting self-conscious suddenly are you?" Kiba teased.

"Why would I? It's not like we haven't done something similar to this before."

"Yeah, but tonight's different and, thank you Naruto for giving me this chance to show you just how much I love you." Kiba said candidly. Naruto smiled and looked at Kiba who was showing an evenly tan body with muscles to die for.

Kiba continued to take Naruto's pants off, grabbing the boxers along with it leaving Naruto fully naked under him. He unsnapped his own pants also taking them off with his boxers, freeing his raging hard-on, giving him a little comfort at the loss of the tight fabric. Naruto was already eyeing it with lust and Kiba was pushed down on the bed before he knew it.

"Always eager for this aren't you?" Kiba teased again.

"You don't know how much I want that inside my mouth Kiba." Naruto said without any reserve.

"I think I already know." Kiba replied with a low chuckle. "But what I do wanna know is how you'll like it when it's inside another part of you."

"You'll get to do that later Kiba. I just want to do this for you." Naruto then grabbed his lover's erection, pulled the foreskin down to reveal a swollen, shiny pink head starting to drip with pre-cum. The blond leaned down, licked the white fluid before taking the head inside his mouth and slipped his tongue between the slit.

"Fuck!" Kiba uncontrollably groaned.

"We'll get to that later." Naruto grinned and continued by licking from the base to the tip making Kiba shiver under him and then took the whole shaft inside his mouth. He sucked on it and then started bobbing his head up and down to create pleasurable sensation on Kiba's erection, making the brunet grab his lover's blond hair and push his head down to take even more of the brunet's dick. It was a good thing that Kiba wasn't pushing too much and Naruto was already good in controlling his gag reflex. He stopped bobbing at some time and then proceeded to hum, transferring the vibration from his larynx to Kiba's dick making the brunet moan irrepressibly.

"Naruto, fuck you have to stop." Kiba said with all his might even though he didn't want him to stop and just come right there inside Naruto's throat. But what he wanted more was to be inside Naruto's ass when he comes. Thankfully Naruto obeyed and let go of his erection with a popping sound, a line of saliva connecting the head of his dick with the blond's pink lips. Both of them were panting heavily and both gazed at each other with lust-filled eyes.

"Naruto." Kiba spoke his lover's name, with that one word telling Naruto what Kiba wanted to do. Naruto nodded and laid himself on the bed. Kiba sat up and picked up the bottle of lube from the nightstand, a thing he had prepared for when this night would come. This night he had wished would come and now has indeed come.

"Naruto, are you sure about this?" he asked, giving Naruto the chance to reconsider in case he wasn't ready. Kiba knew that once he started that he wouldn't be able to stop midway and he'd rather not do it instead of do it and then have a hard time trying to stop.

"I'm sure about this Kiba. I'm ready. Please, I want you inside me." the blond replied and that was all the assurance Kiba needed.

"Okay. Just tell me if it hurts." he said in a caring tone. He popped the cap open and poured a generous amount on his fingers. Naruto had already spread his legs giving Kiba a view of his entrance. Soon enough, a cool finger brushed upon the puckered entrance, circling around it as to help make him relax.

"I'm gonna push it inside." Kiba announced and Naruto gave back a nod. To his surprise, it slipped in easily but he immediately turned to look at his lover to search for signs of discomfort but none were showing. He added the second finger as gently as he could. He heard Naruto grunt and immediately asked if the blond was okay.

"It's okay Kiba. It just feels weird." Naruto reassured.

Learning that the blond was alright, Kiba pushed deeper until the fingers were buried knuckle-deep then he started scissoring them to spread Naruto's wall in preparation for something bigger. Naruto was gripping the sheets and Kiba saw him biting his lips. He didn't need to ask if it hurt cause he knew it did and he needed to distract his lover from the pain so he took the blond's erection in his mouth, swallowing it throat-deep, his gag reflex also already suppressed through the many times he'd done it.

"Aahh!" the sound from Naruto was no more of discomfort but of pleasure, Kiba could tell. It was hard to give head while preparing his lover but he would do anything to make that night perfect. He continued stretching him, slipping in the third finger and the blond didn't even seem to notice. Looking up, Naruto's previously tense hands already lost their grip on the bed sheet and his trunk and head were tilting up, probably doing all he could not to thrust his hips up and further inside Kiba's mouth.

And then, throughout Kiba's prodding, he was suddenly surprised when the blond gave out a loud moan.

"Ah! Kiba, do that again!"

Realizing that he must have hit Naruto's prostate, he searched for it again and knew he found it when the blond moaned again with that same amount of fervor.

"Oh, fuck! Ahh! Kiba that feels so good. Gah!" The blond was squirming in bed, overwhelmed by the new sensations brought about by Kiba's fingers. The brunet continued as he watched his lover, proud of himself that he was able to please him.

"Ki-kiba please, I'm go-gonna cum. Please stop, no more fingers. I want to cum with you inside me." the blond begged. Kiba understood and would really rather prefer his dick inside that tight hole, pounding on to the spot he found as he watched Naruto writhe beneath him. He pulled his fingers out and then grabbed a pack of condom from the nightstand. He tore it open but then Naruto sat up and surprisingly grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"I want to feel you inside me Kiba, not a piece of latex." Naruto said looking intently on Kiba's eyes. Kiba replied with an 'okay' and put the condom back on the nightstand. He couldn't help himself when Naruto looked at him like that and pulled the blond towards him and kissed him. As they broke apart, Kiba was still gazing upon those deep-blue eyes that he just couldn't get enough of.

Naruto laid down once again and Kiba poured the lube on his erection. He spread it evenly with his hand and when he deemed it ready, he lined it up Naruto's entrance, pushing it enough to make pressure.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Make love to me Kiba." was the blond's reply. Kiba took that as the 'go' signal and pushed in slowly but thanks to the preparation he was able to sheath it all inside. Naruto grunted but relaxed soon enough. The warm, tight, and wet feeling surrounding his dick was beyond describable. It felt so good that any movement he did made him want to just pound into Naruto. But with all his strength he controlled himself until Naruto had adjusted and asked for him to move.

"Move Kiba, please." pleaded Naruto.

And all chains binding him were broken at hearing those words. Kiba pulled out until only the head of his dick was inside and then slammed back in, making Naruto grunt. He kept repeating the motion until he found a slow yet steady rhythm. He grabbed Naruto's legs and placed them on his shoulders so he could move more easily then steadied himself by holding onto Naruto's hips.

"Fa-faster. Harder." Naruto gasped as he himself was panting for breath. Kiba complied and increased the pace, himself wanting to do it from the start. He tried shifting angles, looking for that spot that made Naruto cry out earlier. After around 10 tries, he succeeded as he heard Naruto shout again.

"Kiba, ahh right there. Fuck!"

"Does that feel good?" Kiba asked.

"Uh, Kiba yes that feels so fucking good."

"You feel so good too my kitsune."

"Fa-aster. I'm close." the blond pleaded and Kiba increased his pace even more and then grabbed Naruto's erection to pump on it. The direct hit after direct hit on to his prostate and Kiba's hand pumping his erection brought Naruto to the edge, making him see white as he screamed his lover's name.

"KIBA!"

The intense spasms on his groin had him shooting ribbons of cum onto both of their chests and abdomen. He involuntarily tightened his sphincters giving a tighter hug on Kiba and after a few more thrusts, the brunet experienced his own powerful orgasm with an unrestrained shout of Naruto's name as he shot his load deep inside his lover.

His thrusts slowed down as he relished the after effects of the orgasm and then he fell down beside his lover, a little tired but not exhausted. The two were breathing hard as they stared at each other with a sated look.

"Kiba that was… amazing." Naruto breathed out.

"Yeah, amazing." Kiba said, unable to think of any other words to describe what they've just experienced.

"I love you Kiba."

"I love you too." the brunet said back with a smile as he pulled his lover and kissed him. When they closed, Kiba felt the cum on their abdomens stick together leaving threads when they pulled apart.

"We should probably clean up." said the brunet as he looked at the white threads. Kiba held Naruto's arms as he started to pull himself out of the blond but a pair of hands prevented him from doing so as Naruto held him in place.

"Surely you don't think one round's gonna be enough? Unless you're already tired." Naruto smirked at Kiba challengingly.

"Of course not. I can still go on." came the proud response from the Inuzuka.

"I wanted to do this for so long Kiba. If I had known it would feel this good I would have asked for us to do this way before. But now, I think I wanna ride you."

"Ri-ride me?" Kiba repeated in surprise. He never thought the blond would be wanting to do something like that especially during their first time. He didn't have any protests though.

Naruto pulled himself up and then pushed his lover down, Kiba's dick still buried deeply inside him, and cum started oozing down his thighs. Naruto could feel Kiba's dick coming back to life again as it stretched his insides once more. The blond himself was already half-hard and without wasting time he held on Kiba's shoulders for support and lifted himself up and slammed back down. He repeated this motion, not needing more lube as the brunet's cum has made it easy to slide in and out.

Naruto somehow liked it that he was on top, even if he was still on the receiving end. He was the one in control, how fast, how deep, what angle, and he continued his motion until he found his own sweet spot and continued to slam down on it directly.

"Oh, fuck! Gah!" It felt like heaven as his prostate was hit continuously and more so when Kiba decided to help do the work as the brunet held Naruto's hips and then meet Naruto with his own upward thrusts. The blond leaned down and smashed their lips together while Kiba continued to pound on him.

It didn't take long for Naruto to be close and he held his own erection and pumped on it. Kiba's thrusting was becoming erratic and the blond knew he was also close. They were panting hard, sweating profusely and the heat from their bodies radiating.

"Close." Naruto whimpered.

"Cum for me Naruto." Kiba whispered on Naruto's ear.

"Ahh! KIBA!" His cum shot onto Kiba's chest as he rode out his orgasm and with Kiba following not five seconds after. Naruto felt the hot and sticky substance fill him and then slowly dripping down the inside of his thighs. With his remaining strength, he pulled away from Kiba's softening dick and laid down beside him, arms spread wide and panting heavily, just as his lover was.

None of the two were able to speak as they continued to gasp for air for about a minute, both of them remembering in detail what they had just done, not wanting to forget any of it. They just stared at each other with pure-hearted smiles on their faces.

"Naruto, I love you so much." Kiba spoke first.

"I love you too datte ba yo." Naruto said back and Kiba chuckled upon hearing his lover's trademark catchphrase. He knew that Naruto said it when he wanted to emphasize, so hearing it after that 'I love you' made Kiba well up with happiness.

Kiba looked at their naked bodies, seeing the cum splatters on them but even though he wouldn't want to admit it, he was tired and just wanted to sleep and clean up the next day. Naruto seemed to have the same thing in mind as his eyes were already blinking uncontrollably, slowly drifting into sleep. Kiba gave the last kiss for the night on Naruto's lips which the blond was still able to return. He then covered them with a blanket and switched off the night light on the night stand and whispered a 'good night' to Naruto who by then was already fast asleep.

Kiba watched his lover's sleeping face which he has found to be the most beautiful sight he has ever seen. He snuggled close to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Suddenly, a flash of when he first met Naruto on that first day of school came to his mind, the day he first had a real crush on a guy and felt the want to be with that guy. And now, here they were beside each other, made love, showed their love for each other with all their hearts. Kiba couldn't help the smile on his lips, thankful to have Naruto beside him just like this, knowing that the next morning he'll wake up with his lover still in his arms.

THE END.

A/N:

There. The whole story has been rewritten. I did my best to scour the whole story for the mistakes but I won't be able to do it alone. There will be remaining errors but I know it won't be as much as when I was rewriting it because there were a lot.

Thank you for the readers who patiently followed this story until the end. It took a very long time to finish but at least it wasn't left unfinished. Your comments about the story will really make me happy if you take the time to leave them for me.

And for the KibaNaru fans out there, I have an announcement that I will be releasing 7 PWP/Lemon KibaNaru one-shots, one before the end of 2015 and the other 6 in January 2016. Don't forget to follow me on FanFiction and Archive of our Own if you want to be notified once they're uploaded.

Original Upload Dates of the Battle for Naruto Chapters:

Chapter 1 – January 19, 2014

Chapter 2 – January 28, 2014

Chapter 3 – February 24, 2014

Chapter 4 – March 21, 2014

Chapter 5 – March 21, 2014

Chapter 6 – April 21, 2014

Chapter 7 – April 26, 2014

Chapter 8 – May 9, 2014

Chapter 9 – May 20, 2014

Chapter 10 – May 25, 2014

Chapter 11 – May 30, 2014

Chapter 12 – June 4, 2014

Chapter 13 – June 23, 2014

Chapter 14 – August 3, 2014

Chapter 15 – August 27, 2014

Chapter 16 – September 16, 2014

Chapter 17 – October 12, 2014

Chapter 18 – December 10, 2014

Chapter 19 – February 17, 2015

Chapter 20 – November 14, 2015

Rewrite Completion – December 29, 2015


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